Iodidimonas gelatinilytica sp. nov., aerobic iodide-oxidizing bacteria isolated from brine water and surface seawater.

Chemo-organotrophic iodide (I)-oxidizing bacterial strains Hi-2 and Mie-1 were isolated from iodide-rich natural gas brine water in Chiba and surface seawater in Mie, Japan, respectively. Cells of strains Hi-2 and Mie-1 were aerobic, Gram-negative and rod-shaped (0.3-0.5 µm width and 1.2-4.4 µm in length). Two isolates grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7.5 and with 3% NaCl (w/v). Iodide oxidation to form molecular iodine (I) was a biochemically unique trait for strains Hi-2 and Mie-1. The major cellular fatty acids are Cω7c, Cω5c and C 2-OH. A phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strains Hi-2 and Mie-1 were located near Iodidimonas muriae C-3 with 99.2% sequence similarity. The calculated digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) value of 65.7-65.9% between the two isolates and I. muriae C-3 was lower than the threshold of 70%, which was used for prokaryotic species delineation. Strains Hi-2 and Mie-1 differed in the hydrolysis of aesculin, the hydrolysis of gelatin and the major cellular fatty acids composition from I. muriae C-3. Considering these biochemical properties, the major cellular fatty acids composition and dDDH value, a novel species is proposed for strains Hi-2 (= JCM 17844 = LMG 28661) and Mie-1 (= JCM 17845 = LMG 28662), to be named Iodidimonas gelatinilytica.