Microbulbifer arenaceous sp. nov., a new endolithic bacterium isolated from the inside of red sandstone

An endolithic bacterium, strain RSBr-1, was isolated from the inside of a piece of red sandstone from coastal areas of Scotland. RSBr-1 was Gram negative, oxidase and catalase positive, and cells were non-motile rods. Sodium was required for growth. The optimum sodium chloride concentration and pH for growth were 4% and pH 8.0, respectively. Eumelanin was produced in marine broth and in BY medium. RSBr-1 hydrolyzes chitin, esculin, gelatin, and starch, but not agar. Nitrate reduction is positive. Taxonomic characterization of this strain indicated that it belongs to the genus Microbulbifer. The difference between the aligned 16S rDNA sequences of RSBr-1 and the closest relative, M. elongata, is greater than the difference between the 16S rDNA sequences of M. hydrolyticus and M. elongata. On the basis of the phenotypic and genotypic comparison of this isolate with the other strains, RSBr-1 is proposed as a new species, Microbulbifer arenaceous, with type strain RSBr-1.