Planococus donghaensis sp. nov., a starch-degrading bacterium isolated from the East Sea, South Korea

A novel Gram-positive, aerobic bacterium, strain JH1^T, was isolated from deep-sea sediment of the East Sea, South Korea, and identified by methods of polyphasic taxonomy. The strain was oxidase-positive, motile and coccus-shaped. The genomic DNA G + C content of strain JH1^T was 47 mol%. The major fatty acid of strain JH1^T was anteiso-C_15:0 and the predominant menaquinones were MK-7 and MK-8. Similarity of the 16S rRNA gene sequence (1452 nt) of strain JH1^T to those of species of the genera Planococcus and Planomicrobium was 96.0-98.2%. The signature nucleotides in the 16S rRNA gene sequence were compared with those of previously studied type strains of species in the genera Planococcus and Planomicrobium, and suggested that strain JH1^T belongs to the genus Planococcus. In addition, phylogenetic analysis showed that strain JH1^T was located within the cluster comprising Planococcus antarcticus and Planococcus kocurii. DNA-DNA hybridization showed that it had 9.3% genomic relatedness with Planococcus antarcticus DSM 14505^T and 22.9% with Planococcus kocurii DSM 20747^T. On the basis of the phenotypic, phylogenetic and genomic data, a novel species of the genus Planococcus, Planococcus donghaensis sp. nov., is proposed, with type strain JH1^T (=KCTC 13050^T=LMG 23779^T).