[Diversity of bacteria isolated from the South China Sea sediments].
OBJECTIVE
To isolate bacteria from Nansha area of South China sea,


METHODS
Sediment samples of 22 sites were used. Bacterial isolation was conducted on plates of marine medium, followed by 16S rRNA identification and phylogenetic analysis.


RESULTS
In total 349 bacteria were obtained, belonging to 87 species. Analyses of 16S rRNA sequence showed that Bacillus and other spore-forming bacteria occupied the majority of isolates in 10 sites. Bacillus was the most abundant bacterium and of high diversity; with 34 species and 8 possible novel species. Halobacillus also occurred frequently while other spore-forming bacteria including Brevibacillus, Paenibacillus, Pontibacillus and Thalassobacillus were also found, but less occurred in this area. In addition to these low-G+C-content bacteria, gamma-Proteobacteria were the second subgroup of high occurrence, among which Pseudomonas, Marinobacter and Alcanivorax were relatively abundant. Generally, isolates of 750-2000 m deep mainly consist of low-G+C-content bacteria, while mainly composed of gamma-Proteobacteria when the depth is over 2000 m.


CONCLUSIONS
Marine sediments of South China Sea are rich in spore-forming bacteria, which deserve further study and exploitation.
Sun
Fengqin
F
Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen 361005, China. fq.sun@163.com
Wang
Baojiang
B
Li
Guangyu
G
Liu
Xiupian
X
Du
Yaping
Y
Lai
Qiliang
Q
Shao
Zongze
Z
D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001482:Base Composition; D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000145:classification; D053520:Marinobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D014871:Water Microbiology
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S