A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic bacterium, designated GW1C4-4T, was isolated from the seawater sample from the tidal zone of Guanyinshan Coast, Xiamen, Fujian Province, PR China. The strain was reddish-orange, rod-shaped and non-motile. Cells of strain GW1C4-4T were oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. The strain could grow at 10-42 °C (optimum, 32-35 °C), pH 5-9 (optimum, pH 6) and with 0-10 % NaCl (w/v; optimum, 1 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA sequences indicated that strain GW1C4-4T belonged to the genus Gordonia, having the highest similarity to Gordonia mangrovi HNM0687T (98.5 %), followed by Gordonia bronchialis DSM 43247T (98.4 %). The G+C DNA content was 66.5 mol %. Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain GW1C4-4T and G. mangrovi HNM0687T were 85.8 and 30.0 %, respectively. The principal fatty acids of strain GW1C4-4T were C16 : 0, C18 : 0 10-methyl (TBSA) and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c/C16 : 1 ω6c). MK-9 (H2) was the sole respiratory quinone. The polar lipids included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and an unidentified lipid. Based on its phylogenetic, phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genomic characteristics, it is proposed that strain GW1C4-4T represents a novel species within the genus Gordonia, for which the name Gordonia tangerina sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GW1C4-4T (=MCCC 1A18727T=KCTC 49729T).
Keywords: Gordonia tangerina; Xiamen; seawater; taxonomy.