Vibrio aestuarianus: a New Species from Estuarine Waters and Shellfish

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A group of phenotypically similar bacteria were isolated from estuarine waters and shellfish from the Oregon coast by procedures designed for the isolation of potentially pathogenic Vibrio species. Although these strains were typical of bacteria of the genus Vibrio, they could be distinguished from previously described species by their arginine dihydrolase activities, negative Voges-Proskauer reactions, fermentation of sucrose and lactose, and inability to grow in 0 or >5% added NaCl. The deoxyribonucleic acid base compositions of these strains ranged from 43 to 44 mol% guanine plus cytosine. There was >85% deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness among these strains (melting temperature -15°C; membrane filter competition method), whereas there was < 25% relatedness with other Vibrio species, including Vibria anguillarum, Vibrio nereis, and Vibrio splendidus, which are also arginine dihydrolase positive and have similar guanine-plus-cytosine contents. Our results indicate that the strains which we studied are distinct from previously described species of the genus Vibrio, and we propose the name Vibrio aestuarianus for these strains, indicating their estuarine origin. The type strain is strain OY-0-002 (= ATCC 35048).