Identification of a new marine bacterium Ruegeria sp. 50C-3 isolated from seawater of Uljin in Korea and production of thermostable enzymes

A marine bacterium, designated as strain 50C-3, was isolated from a seawater sample collected from the East Sea of South Korea. The strain is a Gram-negative, aerobic, yellow colored polar-flagellated bacterium that grows at $20-50^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5-8.5. Optimal growth occurred at $40-50^{\circ}C$, at pH 6.5-7.5, and in the presence of 2% (w/v) NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the isolate was considered to represent a member of the genus Ruegeria. The result of this analysis showed that strain 50C-3 shared 99.4% and 96.98% sequence similarity with Ruegeria intermedia CC-GIMAT-$2^T$ and Ruegeria lacuscaerulensis ITI-$1157^T$, respectively. Furthermore, strain 50C-3 showed clear differences from related strains in terms of several characteristics such as motility, carbon utilization, enzyme production, etc. The DNA G+C content was 66.7 mol%. Chemotaxonomic analysis indicated ubiquinone-10 (Q-10) as the predominant respiratory quinone. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic characteristics, the isolate represents a novel variant of the Ruegeria intermedia CC-GIMAT-$2^T$, for which we named Ruegeria sp. 50C-3 (KCTC23890=DSM25519). Strain 50C-3 did not produce cellulase and agarase, but produced alkaline phosphatase, ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, and ${\beta}$-galactosidase. The three enzymes showed stable activities even at $50^{\circ}C$ and thus regarded as thermostable enzymes. Especially, the ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity enhanced by 1.9 times at $50^{\circ}C$ than that at $37^{\circ}C$, which may be very useful for industrial application.

대한민국 울진 연안 해양에서 분리한 해양 미생물 Ruegeria sp. 50C-3의 동정 및 내열성 효소 생산

대한민국 동해안 울진 앞 바닷물로부터 50-C로 명명한 해양 미생물을 분리하였다. 50-C 균주는 그람-음성, 호기성 세균이며, 노란색 집락을 형성하고, 극성편모를 갖는 박테리아이다. 이 균주는 $20-50^{\circ}C$, pH 5.5-8.5 범위에서 자라며, 비교적 고온인 $40-50^{\circ}C$, pH 6.5-7.5, 2% (w/v) NaCl에서 최적 성장을 보인다. 16S rRNA 유전자 서열 분석결과 50C-3 균주는 Ruegeria 속에 속하는 R. intermedia CC-GIMAT-$2^T$, R. lacuscaerulensis ITI-$1157^T$의 16S rRNA 유전자 서열과 각각 99.4%, 96.98% 상동성을 보였다. 그러나 50C-3 균주는 운동성, 탄소이용능력, 효소생산능력 등의 생리학적 특성에서 두 균주와는 명확히 다른 특성을 보였다. 50C-3 균주의 DNA G+C content는 66.7 mol%이고, 주요한 respiratory quinone은 ubiquinone-10 (Q-10)이었다. 이와 같은 형태학적, 생리학적, 유전학적 특성을 비교하여, 50C-3 균주는 R. intermedia CC-GIMAT-$2^T$와 같은 종에 속하는 새로운 변종으로 판단되며 Ruegeria sp. 50C-3으로 명명하였다(KCTC23890 =DSM25519). 50C-3 균주는 cellulase, agarase 활성은 없었지만, alkaline phosphatase, ${\alpha}$-galactosidase, ${\beta}$-galactosidase를 생산하였고 이들 모두 $50^{\circ}C$ 에서도 활성이 좋은 내열성 효소일 것으로 판단되었다. 특히, ${\beta}$-galactosidase의 경우 $37^{\circ}C$에서 보다 $50^{\circ}C$에서의 활성이 1.9배 증가하여 산업적으로 활용성이 클 것으로 예상된다.