Lignocellulosic materials are composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin and are one of the most abundant biopolymers in marine environments. The extent of the involvement of marine microorganisms in lignin degradation and their contribution to the oceanic carbon cycle remains elusive. In this study, a novel lignin-degrading bacterial strain, LCG003, was isolated from intertidal seawater in Lu Chao Harbor, East China Sea. Phylogenetically, strain LCG003 was affiliated with the genus Aliiglaciecola within the family Alteromonadaceae. Metabolically, strain LCG003 contains various extracellular (signal-fused) glycoside hydrolase genes and carbohydrate transporter genes and can grow with various carbohydrates as the sole carbon source, including glucose, fructose, sucrose, rhamnose, maltose, stachyose and cellulose. Moreover, strain LCG003 contains many genes of amino acid and oligopeptide transporters and extracellular peptidases and can grow with peptone as the sole carbon and nitrogen source, indicating a proteolytic lifestyle. Notably, strain LCG003 contains a gene of dyp-type peroxidase and strain-specific genes involved in the degradation of 4-hydroxy-benzoate and vanillate. We further confirmed that it can decolorize aniline blue and grow with lignin as the sole carbon source. Our results indicate that the Aliiglaciecola species can depolymerize and mineralize lignocellulosic materials and potentially play an important role in the marine carbon cycle.
Keywords: Aliiglaciecola; biodegradation; lignocellulosic materials; marine microorganisms; whole genome.