Relationships between two Pseudoalteromonas strains isolated from the Canada Basin and the Southern Ocean using a polyphasic approach

The evolutionary relationships and taxonomic position of two marine planktonic bacterial strains BSw20211 and BSw10014, isolated from the Canada Basin and from the Southern Ocean, respectively, were determined using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. There was a close phylogenetic relationship between the two strains and most phenotypic properties were shared. Nonetheless, they were found to belong to different species of the genus Pseudoalteromonas on the basis of genotypic analyses. Findings were consistent with the suggestion that gyrB gene sequence comparison and DNA-DNA relatedness might better define phylogenetic relationships of bacteria at the species level. However, a cut-off value of 90% gyrB gene sequence similarity was not reliable for the differentiation of species within the genus Pseudoalteromonas.     

Phylogenetic analysis of bacteria in sea ice brine sampled from the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean

Bacterial diversity in sea ice brine samples which collected from four stations located at the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean was analyzed by PCR-DGGE. Twenty-three 16S rDNA sequences of bacteria obtained from DGGE bands were cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis clustered these sequences within γ-proteobacteria, Cytophaga-Flexlbacter-Bacteroides （CFB） group, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. The phylotype of Pseudoalteromonas in the γ-proteobacteria was predominant and members of the CFB group and γ-proteobacteria were highly abundant in studied sea ice brine samples.     

Morphological and genetic comparison of two strains of a Prorocentrum species isolated from Zhejiang coastal water of China and Masan Bay of Korea

In this paper, we examined the detailed morphology of two strains of Prorocentrum isolated from the coastal waters of Zhejiang (Wenling area), China, and Masan Bay of Korea. A taxonomic comparison was made among strains on the basis of morphological and molecular data. The cellular dimensions of the Chinese Wenling strain (LAMB090508) and Korean strain (PDKS0206) were similar and the cells of both strains were of asymmetric and elongated shape. The posterior end of most cells was rounded. Megacytic zones of aged cells were broader with dense tiny knobs. The roundish nucleus was located in the posterior part of the cell. A few irregular shaped chloroplasts were distributed within the cell. The nucleotide similarity of the two strains, determined from the 5.8S rDNA-ITS sequences, was 99.83%. The comparative results of morphology and molecular analysis suggest that both strains isolated from China and Korea were the identical species, Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu.