title: Alcanivorax borkumensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a new, hydrocarbon-degrading and surfactant-producing marine bacterium.
abstract: During screening for biosurfactant-producing, n-alkane-degrading marine bacteria, six heterotrophic bacterial strains were isolated from enriched mixed cultures, obtained from sea water/sediment samples collected near the isle of Borkum (North Sea), using Mihagol-S (C14,15-n-alkanes) as principal carbon source. These Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria use a limited number of organic compounds, including aliphatic hydrocarbons, volatile fatty acids, and pyruvate and its methyl ether. During cultivation on n-alkanes as sole source of carbon and energy, all strains produced both extracellular and cell-bound surface-active glucose lipids which reduced the surface tension of water from 72 to 29 mN m-1 (16). This novel class of glycolipids was found to be produced only by these strains. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that these strains are all members of the gamma-subclass of the Proteobacteria. Their phospholipids ester-linked fatty acid composition was shown to be similar to that of members of the genus Halmonas, although they did not demonstrate a close phylogenetic relationship to any previously described species. On the basis of the information summarized above, a new genus and species, Alcanivorax borkumensis, is described to include these bacteria. Strain SK2T is the type strain of A. borkumensis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology, GBF National Research Centre for Biotechnology, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Yakimov
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Golyshin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lünsdorf
authors.forename: K N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Timmis
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D013501:Surface-Active Agents