Nitratireductor basaltis sp. nov., isolated from black beach sand

A Gram-negative, coccoid- or rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from black sand collected from Soesoggak beach, Jeju Island, Korea. The isolate, designated J3^T, grew at 15-45 °C, at pH 5.5-10.0 and in 0-8% NaCl. It was oxidase- and catalase-positive. Strain J3^T reduced nitrate to nitrite, but did not reduce nitrite to nitrogen gas. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain J3^T was closely related to Nitratireductor aquibiodomus NL21^T and belonged to the genus Nitratireductor. Major cellular fatty acids were C_18:1ω7c (82.0%), C_19:0ω8c cyclo (4.3%) and C_18:0 (4.0%), a profile that is typical of members of the genus Nitratireductor and distinct from those of other genera in the family Phyllobacteriaceae. Differences in physiological characteristics and fatty acid profiles, as well as low DNA-DNA hybridization values, further established that strain J3^T was distinct from N. aquibiodomus NL21^T. Thus, strain J3^T (=KCTC 22119^T =JCM 14935^T) should be classified as the type strain of a novel species in the genus Nitratireductor, for which the name Nitratireductor basaltis sp. nov. is proposed.