Paracoccus haeundaensis sp. nov., a Gram-negative, halophilic, astaxanthin-producing bacterium

Abstract

An aerobic, non-motile, Gram-negative, orange-pigmented, rod-shaped, astaxanthin-producing marine bacterium was isolated from the Haeundae Coast, Korea. This strain, BC74171 T , produced carotenoids, mainly astaxanthin. All the type strains of the genus Paracoccus were compared with strain BC74171 T using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, fatty acid patterns and physiological reaction profiles. Based on the results of these analyses, it is proposed that strain BC74171 T represents a novel species, Paracoccus haeundaensis sp. nov. The type strain is BC74171 T (=KCCM 10460 T =LMG P-21903 T ).Astaxanthin (3,39-dihydroxy-b,b-carotene-4,49-dione) is a carotenoid that is widely distributed in nature and is present in marine animal tissues, including those of red sea bream, salmon and lobster (Fujita et al., 1983;Johnson & An, 1991;Nelis & De Leenheer, 1991). Organisms that produce astaxanthin include the basidiomycetous yeast Phaffia rhodozyma (Miller et al., 1976), the green alga Haematococcus pluvialis (Bubrick, 1991), and the Gramnegative bacteria 'Agrobacterium aurantiacum' (Yokoyama et al., 1994), Paracoccus marcusii (Harker et al., 1998), Paracoccus carotinifaciens (Tsubokura et al., 1999) and Paracococcus sp. strain MBIC 01143 (Misawa et al., 1995).The genus Paracoccus consists of Gram-negative, oxidaseand catalase-positive bacteria that show substantial metabolic versatility. At present, the genus Paracoccus includes 17 recognized species. Phylogenetically, the genus belongs to the a-3 subclass of the Proteobacteria. In this study, results of a taxonomic study and a phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons are described. Data show that a newly isolated marine strain, BC74171 T , should be classified as a representative of a novel species within the genus Paracoccus. The name Paracoccus haeundaensis sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is BC74171 T (=KCCM 10460 T =LMG P-21903 T ) and its characteristics are described.An orange-pigmented, astaxanthin-producing bacterial strain, BC74171 T , was isolated from sea water collected on the Haeundae Coast, Korea. This strain was isolated on nutrient agar medium (Difco) and maintained on PPES-II medium (0?2 % polypeptone, 0?1 % Bacto-yeast extract, 0?1 % Bacto-soytone, 0?1 % Bacto-tryptone, 10 p.p.m. ferric citrate and 3 % NaCl) by serial inoculation. Strain BC74171 T was Gram-negative and rod-shaped. The cells ranged from 0?3 to 0?7 mm in diameter and 0?8 to 2?5 mm in length. Cells were non-motile and non-spore-forming. Colonies on agar were smooth, flat and bright orange in colour.Cultured cells were suspended in 0?1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7?2). Cells were fixed with 2 % glutaraldehyde, washed with 0?05 M cacodylate buffer and post-fixed with 1 % osmium tetroxide. Fixed cells were dehydrated in ethanol and the ethanol was replaced with propylene oxide before embedding in Epon resin and sectioning with an ultramicrotome. Sections were examined with a JEM 1200EX-II transmission electron microscope ( Fig. 1; see also the transmission electron mic...

Paracoccus halophilus sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment of the South China Sea, China, and emended description of genus Paracoccus Davis 1969

“…A number of Paracoccus species can also grow chemoautotrophically and use nitrate as electron acceptor (such as Paracoccus denitrificans, Ludwig et al, 1993), or use hydrogen as electron donor (such as Paracoccus versutus, Katayama et al, 1995). Members of the genus Paracoccus are metabolically versatile and are widely distributed in soil (Siller et al, 1996;Tsubokura et al, 1999), bioreactors (La et al, 2005;Lipski et al, 1998), activated sludge (Katayama et al, 1995;Liu et al, 2006) and in the marine environment (Pukall et al, 2003;Berry et al, 2003;Lee et al, 2004;Kim et al, 2006). In this study, a marine bacterial isolate, the strain T that is able to grow at 7 u C and high salt concentrations (8 % NaCl), was investigated for its taxonomic status.…”

Thalassobius mediterraneus gen. nov., sp. nov., and reclassification of Ruegeria gelatinovorans as Thalassobius gelatinovorus comb. nov.

“…Novel taxa are continuously arising within this group. Thus, since that review of names, 16 proposals of novel species and nine new genera of a-3 Proteobacteria have been published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (Abraham et al, 2004;Adachi et al, 2004;Cho & Giovannoni, 2004;Lau et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2004;Martínez-Cánovas et al, 2004;Shieh et al, 2004;Van Trappen et al, 2004;Wagner-Döbler et al, 2004;Labrenz et al, 2005;Macián et al, 2005a, b;Pujalte et al, 2005) and a few others are currently in press. Such a concentration of papers and independent studies on the same bacterial group implies that exhaustive care has to be taken with the criteria for proposing novel taxa and their arrangement into higher rank units.…”

Optimization of Carotenoid Production by Paracoccus beibuensis Isolated from Lonar Crater

“…Out of all pigments Carotenoids are very important as they are involved in reducing on set of many diseases which are produced due to the free radical damage. Astaxanthin is one of the carotenoids with commercial value as food supplement and food additives for human, animals and fish [2], Paracoccus haeundaensis an Astaxanthin producing marine bacterium has been isolated and identified [5]. In the present study orange pigment producing Paracoccus beibuensis was isolated from hypersaline-hyperalkaline environment of Lonar Crater.…”