Abstract

Two new bacterial strains designated as Ant6T and Ant18 were isolated from the muscle of a fish which had been caught in the Antarctic Ocean. Both strains are Gram-stain-positive, catalase positive, oxidase negative, aerobic, and coccoid bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains Ant6T and Ant18 revealed that the strains Ant6T and Ant18 belong to the genus Deinococcus in the family Deinococcaceae in the class Deinococci. The highest degrees of sequence similarities of strains Ant6T and Ant18 were found with Deinococcus alpinitundrae LMG 24283T by 96.4% and 96.8%, respectively. Strain Ant6T exhibited a high level of DNA- DNA hybridization values with strain Ant18 (82 ± 0.6%). Chemotaxonomic data revealed that the predominant fatty acids were C17􍾙:􍾙0 cyclo, 16:0, and feature 3 (C16:1 ω6c/ω7c) for both strains. A complex polar lipid profile consisted of major amounts of unknown phosphoglycolipids (PGL) and unknown aminophospholipid (APL). Based on the phylogenetic, phenotypic, and chemotaxonomic data, strains Ant6T (=KEMB 9004-169T =JCM 31434T) and Ant18 (=KEMB 9004- 170) should be classified as a new species, for which the name Deinococcus rubellus sp. nov. is proposed.

• Keywords: Deinococcaceae; Deinococcus; gamma ray; UV