Bowmanella dokdonensis sp. nov., a novel exoelectrogenic bacterium isolated from the seawater of Dokdo, Korea

Recent progress in the characterization and application of exo-electrogenic microorganisms

Exo-electrogenic microorganisms are characterized by their special metabolic capability of transferring metabolic electrons out of their cell, into insoluble external electron acceptors such as iron or manganese oxides and electrodes, or vice versa take up electron from electrodes. Their conventional application is primarily limited to microbial fuel cells for electrical power generation and microbial electrolysis cells for the production of value-added products such as biohydrogen, biomethane and hydrogen peroxide. The utility of exo-electrogenic organisms has expanded into many other applications in recent times. Such examples include microbial desalination cells, microbial electro-synthesis cells producing value-added chemicals such as bio-butanol and their applications in other carbon sequestration technologies. Additionally, electrochemically-active organisms are now beginning to be employed in biosensor applications for environmental monitoring. Additionally, the utility of biocathodes in bio-electrochemical systems is also a novel application in catalyzing the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction to enhance their electrochemical performance. Advances have also been made in the expansion and use of other organisms such as the usage of photosynthetic microorganisms for the fabrication of self-sustained bio-electrochemical systems. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of the state-of the art of exo-electrogenic organisms and their novel utility in bioelectrochemical systems.

Paraneptunicella aestuarii gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Alteromonadaceae isolated from seawater in East China Sea

An aerobic Gram-stain-negative, curved rod-shaped and non-spore-forming bacterial strain (NBU2194^T) was isolated from seawater collected in an intertidal zone in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, PR China. It was motile though a single polar flagellum and grew at 20-42 °C (optimum, 30 °C), in 0-2.0 % NaCl (0 %, w/v) and at pH 5.0-9.0 (pH 6.0-7.0). The sole respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8. The major cellular fatty acids were C_16 : 0, C_16 : 1  ω7c and/or C_16 : 1  ω6c. The polar lipids contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified phospholipid and two unidentified aminophosphoglycolipids. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and 65 genomic core genes showed that strain NBU2194^T formed a distinct lineage in the family Alteromonadaceae. The genome of strain NBU2194^T was 4 913 533 bp with a DNA G+C content of 43.9 mol% and coded 3895 genes, 12 rRNA genes and 47 tRNA genes. The average nucleotide identity, amino acid identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain NBU2194^T and related species of Alteromonadaceae were below the threshold limit for prokaryotic species delineation. NBU2194^T could be distinguished from other genera in the family Alteromonadaceae based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genomic characteristics. On the basis of the polyphasic taxonomic evidence collected in this study, strain NBU2194^T is considered to represent a novel genus and species in the family Alteromonadaceae, for which the name Paraneptunicella aestuarii is proposed. The type strain is NBU2194^T (=KCTC 82442^T=GDMCC 1.2217^T).

Bowmanella yangjiangensis sp. nov. and Amphritea pacifica sp. nov., isolated from mariculture fishponds in China

Four Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, rod-shaped and motile strains (Y26, Y57^T, ZJ14W^T and RP18W) were isolated from mariculture fishponds in PR China. Comparisons based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains Y26 and Y57^T share 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities in the range of 95.1-98.5 % with species of the genus Bowmanella, and strains ZJ14W^T and RP18W share 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities in the range of 96.7 -98.8 % with species of the genus Amphritea, respectively. The genome sizes of strains Y26, Y57^T, ZJ14W^T and RP18W were about 4.85, 5.40, 4.70 and 4.70 Mbp with 49.5, 51.7, 51.2 and 51.3 mol% G+C content, respectively. The calculated pairwise OrthoANIu values among strains Y26, Y57^T and species of the genus Bowmanella were in the range of 72.6-83.1 %, but the value between strains Y26 and Y57^T was 96.2 %. The pairwise OrthoANIu values among strains ZJ14W^T, RP18W and other species of the genus Amphritea were all less than 93.9 %, but the value between strains ZJ14W^T and RP18W was 99.3 %. Q-8 was the major respiratory quinone of strains Y26, Y57^T, ZJ14W^T and RP18W, and the major fatty acids of these strains were all C_{16 : 1} ω7c, C_{16 : 0} and C_{18 : 1} ω7c. The predominant polar lipids of strains Y26 and Y57^T included phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol, but strains ZJ14W^T and RP18W only contained phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Combining phenotypic, biochemical and genotypic characteristics, strains Y26 and Y57^T should belong to the same species and represent a novel member of the genus Bowmanella, and strains ZJ14W^T and RP18W should belong to the same species and represent a novel member of the genus Amphritea, for which the names Bowmanella yangjiangensis sp. nov. (type strain Y57^T=GDMCC 1.2180^T=KCTC 82439^T) and Amphritea pacifica sp. nov. (type strain ZJ14W^T=GDMCC 1.2203^T=KCTC 82438^T) are proposed.

A strategy for securing unique microbial resources – focusing on Dokdo islands-derived microbial resources

This review focuses on the state of research on the microbial resources of Dokdo, Korea, as a strategy for securing national microbial resources. In the Korean peninsula, studies aimed at securing microbial resources are carried out across diverse natural environments, especially in the Dokdo islands. Until 2017, a total of 61 novel microbial genera, species, or newly recorded strains have been reported. Among these, 10 new taxa have had their whole genome sequenced and published, in order to find novel useful genes. Additionally, there have been multiple reports of bacteria with novel characteristics, including promoting plant growth or inducing systemic resistance in plants, calcite-forming ability, electrical activation, and production of novel enzymes. Furthermore, fundamental studies on microbial communities help to secure and define microbial resources in the Dokdo islands. This study will propose several tactics, based on ecological principles, for securing more microbial resources to cope with the current increase in international competition for biological resources.

List of new names and new combinations previously effectively, but not validly, published

The purpose of this announcement is to effect the valid publication of the following effectively published new names and new combinations under the procedure described in the Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision). Authors and other individuals wishing to have new names and/or combinations included in future lists should send an electronic copy of the published paper to the IJSEM Editorial Office for confirmation that all of the other requirements for valid publication have been met. It is also a requirement of IJSEM and the ICSP that authors of new species, new subspecies and new combinations provide evidence that types are deposited in two recognized culture collections in two different countries. It should be noted that the date of valid publication of these new names and combinations is the date of publication of this list, not the date of the original publication of the names and combinations. The authors of the new names and combinations are as given below. Inclusion of a name on these lists validates the publication of the name and thereby makes it available in the nomenclature of prokaryotes. The inclusion of a name on this list is not to be construed as taxonomic acceptance of the taxon to which the name is applied. Indeed, some of these names may, in time, be shown to be synonyms, or the organisms may be transferred to another genus, thus necessitating the creation of a new combination.