The 16S rRNA gene was amplified using bacterial universal primers specific to the 16S rRNA gene (primers 9F and 1510R). The PCR product was sequenced using a BigDye Terminator v3.1 cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems) and the DNA sequencer ABI PRISM 3130xl Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems).

The primers 9F, 785F, 802R, and 1510R were used in the gene sequencing reaction learn more (Nakagawa & Kawasaki, 2001). Alignments were carried out using the clustal w tool in mega version 5.0 (Tamura et al., 2011). Phylogenetic trees were generated by the neighbor-joining (Saitou & Nei, 1987), maximum-parsimony (Fitch, 1971), and maximum-likelihood (Felsenstein, 1981) methods in mega version 5.0. The distance matrix was produced on the basis of Kimura’s two-parameter model (Kimura, 1980), and the topologies of the resultant trees were evaluated using bootstrap analysis (Felsenstein, 1985) of 1000 replicates. Sequence similarity values were calculated using genetyx-mac version 16 (Genetyx Corporation). The cell morphology of strain KU41ET was examined selleck chemical under a transmission electron microscope (JEM-2000EX; JEOL) (Fig. 1). Motility was examined on a semisolid

MB medium. Gram staining was performed using a Favor-G kit (Nissui), and the cells were observed under a light microscope (BX50F4; Olympus). Catalase and oxidase tests were performed as described by Barrow & Feltham (1993). Growth was tested at 25 °C Carnitine dehydrogenase on MA unless otherwise stated. Salinity requirements were tested using modified MA supplemented

with 0–6% (w/v) NaCl. The pH range for growth was determined on MA, and the pH was adjusted to 5.0–10.0. Susceptibility to antibiotics was determined by the diffusion method, using antibiotic disks (Nissui). Briefly, 100 μL of the bacterial suspension (0.5 McFarland standard) was plated onto MA plates and incubated for 3 days. The following antibiotics were tested: ampicillin (10 μg), chloramphenicol (30 μg), gentamicin (10 μg), kanamycin (30 μg), lincomycin (2 μg), nalidixic acid (30 μg), novobiocin (30 μg), penicillin G (10 U), polymyxin B (300 U), streptomycin (10 μg), and tetracycline (30 μg). Any sign of growth inhibition was scored as sensitivity to that antibiotic, and resistance to an antibiotic was indicated by the absence of an inhibition zone. Nitrate reduction; indole production; acid production from glucose (fermentation); hydrolysis of esculin and gelatin; and the presence of arginine dihydrolase, urease, and β-galactosidase was tested using the API 20NE (bioMérieux) according to the manufacturer’s instructions, but the cell suspensions were prepared using Daigo’s IMK-SP. The results were read after 48 h of incubation at 25 °C. Hydrolysis of starch, Tween 40, and Tween 80 was tested on MA, using the substrate concentrations described by Cowan & Steel (1965).