Marinimicrococcus flavescens gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the family Geminicoccaceae, isolated from a marine sediment of the South China Sea.

A Gram-stain-negative, catalase-positive and oxidase-positive, nonmotile, aerobic, light yellow, spherical-shaped bacterial strain with no flagella, designated strain YIM 152171T, was isolated from sediment of the South China Sea. Colonies were smooth and convex, light yellow and circular, and 1.0-1.5×1.0-1.5 µm in cell diameter after 7 days of incubation at 28°C on YIM38 media supplemented with sea salt. Colonies could grow at 20-45°C (optimum 28-35°C) and pH 6.0-11.0 (optimum, pH 7.0-9.0), and they could proliferate in the salinity range of 0-6.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c/C18 : 1 ω6c), C18 : 1 ω7c 11-methyl, C16 : 0, C16 : 1 ω11c, C16 : 1 ω5c, C17 : 1 ω6c and C18 : 1 ω5c. The respiratory quinone was ubiquinone 10, and the polar lipid profile included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, one unidentified phospholipid and one unidentified aminolipid. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences placed strain YIM 152171T within the order Rhodospirillales in a distinct lineage that also included the genus Geminicoccus. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of YIM 152171T to those of Arboricoccus pini, Geminicoccus roseus and Constrictibacter antarcticus were 92.17, 89.25 and 88.91 %, respectively. The assembled draft genome of strain YIM 152171T had 136 contigs with an N50 value of 134704 nt, a total length of 3 001 346 bp and a G+C content of 70.27 mol%. The phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data showed that strain YIM 152171T (=MCCC 1K08488T=KCTC 92884T) represents a type of novel species and genus for which we propose the name Marinimicrococcus gen. nov., sp. nov.

Discovery of a Novel Chromone Enantiomer and the Precursors of Nonactic Acid from the Coral-Reef-Derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 66814.

Three pairs of enantiomers (1-3)-the new 12R-aloesol (1a) and two new fatty acids (2 and 3)-and one new natural product (4) together three known compounds (5-7) were isolated from a coral-reef-derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 66814. Their structures were determined through extensive spectroscopic analysis, chiral analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Compounds 2 and 3 were presumed to be intermediates for further generating homononactic acid (5) and nonactic acid, and the latter two molecules were able to act as precursors to form macrotetrolides with remarkable biological activity. The isolation of related precursors, compounds 2-5, provided more evidence to support the proposal of a plausible biosynthetic pathway for nonactic acid and its homologs. Additionally, (+)-1 exhibited a weak activity against DPPH radicals.

2,3-Dimethoxycinnamic Acid from a Marine Actinomycete, a Promising Quorum Sensing Inhibitor in Chromobacterium violaceum.

An ethyl acetate extract of a marine actinomycete strain, Nocardiopsis mentallicus SCSIO 53858, isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample in the South China Sea, exhibited anti-quorum-sensing (QS) activity against Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Guided by the anti-QS activity, a novel active compound was isolated and purified from the extract and was identified as 2,3-dimethoxycinnamic acid (2,3-DCA) through spectral data analysis. At a concentration of 150 µg/mL, 2,3-DCA exhibited robust inhibitory effects on three QS-regulated traits of C. violaceum CV026: violacein production, swarming motility, and biofilm formation, with inhibition rates of 73.9%, 65.9%, and 37.8%, respectively. The quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction results indicated that 2,3-DCA can disrupt the QS system in C. violaceum CV026 by effectively suppressing the expression of QS-related genes, including cviR, vioA, vioB, and vioE. Molecular docking analysis revealed that 2,3-DCA hinders the QS system by competitively binding to the same binding pocket on the CviR receptor as the natural signal molecule N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone. Collectively, these findings suggest that 2,3-DCA exhibits promising potential as an inhibitor of QS systems, providing a potential solution to the emerging problem of bacterial resistance.

Directly Observing the Evolution of Flexoelectricity at the Tip of Nanocracks.

As an electromechanical coupling between strain gradients and polarization, flexoelectricity is largely enhanced at the nanoscale. However, directly observing the evolution of flexoelectric fields at the nanoscale usually suffers from the difficulty of producing strain gradients and probing electrical responses simultaneously. Here, we introduce nanocracks in SrTiO3, Ba0.67Sr0.33TiO3, and TiO2 samples and apply continuously varying mechanical loading to them, and as a result, huge strain gradients appear at the crack tip and result in a significant flexoelectric effect. Then, using atomic force microscopy, we successfully measure the evolution of flexoelectricity around the crack tips. For the case of SrTiO3, the maximum induced electric field reaches 11 kV/m due to the tensile load increasing. The proposed method provides a reliable way to identify the significance of the flexoelectric effect. It may also open a new avenue for the study of flexoelectricity involving multiple physics phenomena including flexoelectronics, the flexo-photovoltaic effect, and others.

Paenimyroides aestuarii gen. nov. sp. nov., a novel bacterium isolated from sediment in the Pearl River Estuary and reclassification of five Flavobacterium and four Myroides species.

An aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, yellow-to-orange pigmented and round bacterium, designated strain SCSIO 72103T, was isolated from sediment collected in the Pearl River Estuary, Guangdong Province, PR China and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Growth occurred at 20-37 °C (optimum, 28 °C), pH 6-8 (optimum, pH 7) and with 1-5.5% NaCl (optimum, 1-3 %). Comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis indicated that strain SCSIO 72103T had the highest similarities to Flavobacterium baculatum SNL9T (94.7 %) and Myroides aquimaris SW105T (94.2 %). Phylogenetic analysis based 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SCSIO 72103T formed a single clade with M. aquimaris SW105T. Strain SCSIO 72103T contained iso-C15 : 0 as the major fatty acid and the predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone MK-6. These characteristics are consistent with those of F. baculatum SNL9T and M. aquimaris SW105T. Phosphatidylethanolamine, most notably, unidentified aminolipid and unidentified aminophospholipid were major polar lipids. Strain SCSIO 72103T had a single circular chromosome of 2.96 Mb with a DNA G+C content of 35.1 mol%. The average nucleotide identity, average amino acid identity (AAI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values showed that the pairwise similarities between SCSIO 72103T and the type strains of F. baculatum SNL9T and M. aquimaris SW105T were 78.5-80.5 %, 79.0-81.4 % and 22.7-22.8 %, respectively. The AAI values between species in this clade and the type species of Flavobacterium and Myroides were below the 65 % threshold, indicating that these species belong to a novel genus. On the basis of phylogenetic, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain SCSIO 72103T represents a new species of a novel genus, for which the name Paenimyroides aestuarii gen. nov. sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SCSIO 72103T (=KCTC 92043T=MCCC 1K06659T). It is also proposed that nine known species in the genera Flavobacterium and Myroides are reclassified as Paenimyroides species.

Investigation on Metabolites in Structure and Biosynthesis from the Deep-Sea Sediment-Derived Actinomycete Janibacter sp. SCSIO 52865.

For exploring structurally diverse metabolites and uniquely metabolic mechanisms, we systematically investigated the chemical constituents and putative biosynthesis of Janibacter sp. SCSIO 52865 derived from the deep-sea sediment based on the OSMAC strategy, molecular networking tool, in combination with bioinformatic analysis. As a result, one new diketopiperazine (1), along with seven known cyclodipeptides (2-8), trans-cinnamic acid (9), N-phenethylacetamide (10) and five fatty acids (11-15), was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of SCSIO 52865. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, Marfey's method and GC-MS analysis. Furthermore, the analysis of molecular networking revealed the presence of cyclodipeptides, and compound 1 was produced only under mBHI fermentation condition. Moreover, bioinformatic analysis suggested that compound 1 was closely related to four genes, namely jatA-D, encoding core non-ribosomal peptide synthetase and acetyltransferase.

Nocardioides coralli sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from stony coral in the South China Sea.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-pigmented and non-motile actinobacterium, designated strain SCSIO 67246T, was isolated from a stony coral sample collected from the Sanya sea area, Hainan province, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain SCSIO 67246T shared the highest similarities with Nocardioides rotundus MCCC 1A10561T (96.5 %) and Nocardioides sonneratiae KCTC 39565T (96.1%). The novel strain grew at 15-37 °C, at pH 5.0-10.0 and in the presence of 0-10 % (w/v) NaCl. The genome length of strain SCSIO 67246T was 3.52 Mbp with a DNA G+C content of 72.0 mol% and 3397 protein-coding genes. The novel strain showed an average nucleotide identity value of 76.5 % and a digital DNA-DNA hybridization value of 20.1 % with N. rotundus MCCC 1A10561T. Strain SCSIO 67246T contained MK-8(H4) as the major menaquinone. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and five phospholipids. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, C17 : 1 ω8c and summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1 ω9c/10-methyl C16 : 0). ll-2,6-Diaminopimelic acid was the diagnostic diamino acid. The whole-cell sugars were galactose, glucose and ribose. Based on this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain SCSIO 67246T represents a novel species of the genus Nocardioides, for which the name Nocardioides coralli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SCSIO 67246T (=MCCC 1K06251T=KCTC 49719T).

Structures and antitumor activities of ten new and twenty known surfactins from the deep-sea bacterium Limimaricola sp. SCSIO 53532.

Surfactins are natural biosurfactants with myriad potential applications in the areas of healthcare and environment. However, surfactins were almost exclusively produced by the bacterium Bacillus species in previous reported literatures, together with difficulty in isolating pure monomer, which resulted in making extensive effort to remove duplication and little discovery of new surfactins in recent years. In the present study, the result of Molecular Networking indicated that Limimaricola sp. SCSIO 53532 might well be a potential resource for surfacin-like compounds based on OSMAC strategy. To search for new surfactins with significant biological activity, further study was undertaken on the strain. As a result, ten new surfactins (1-10), along with twenty known surfactins (11-30), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of SCSIO 53532. Their chemical structures were established by detailed 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, HRESIMS data, secondary ion mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis, and chemical degradation (Marfey's method) analysis. Cytotoxic activities of twenty-seven compounds against five human tumor cell lines were tested, and five compounds showed significant antitumor activities with IC50 values less than 10 µM. Furtherly, analysis of structure-activity relationships revealed that the branch of side chain, the esterification of Glu or Asp residue, and the amino acid residue of position 7 possessed a great influence on antitumor activity.

Investigation on Metabolites in Structural Diversity from the Deep-Sea Sediment-Derived Bacterium Agrococcus sp. SCSIO 52902 and Their Biosynthesis.

Deep-sea sediment-derived bacterium may make full use of self-genes to produce more bioactive metabolites to adapt to extreme environment, resulting in the discovery of novel metabolites with unique structures and metabolic mechanisms. In the paper, we systematically investigated the metabolites in structurally diversity and their biosynthesis from the deep-sea sediment-derived bacterium Agrococcus sp. SCSIO 52902 based on OSMAC strategy, Molecular Networking tool, in combination with bioinformatic analysis. As a result, three new compounds and one new natural product, including 3R-OH-1,6-diene-cyclohexylacetic acid (1), linear tetradepsipeptide (2), N1,N5-di-p-(EE)-coumaroyl-N10-acetylspermidine (3) and furan fatty acid (4), together with nineteen known compounds (5-23) were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of SCSIO 52902. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, Marfey's method and chiral-phase HPLC analysis. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that compounds 1, 3, 9 and 13-22 were closely related to the shikimate pathway, and compound 5 was putatively produced by the OSB pathway instead of the PKS pathway. In addition, the result of cytotoxicity assay showed that compound 5 exhibited weak cytotoxic activity against the HL-60 cell line.

Halo- and Thiocarbazomycins from Coral- and Coral Reef Sands-Derived Actinomycetes.

Four actinomycete strains isolated from the coral Acropora austera and coral sand samples from the South China Sea, were found to produce a series of halogenated compounds baring similar ultraviolet absorption based on the analysis of HPLC and LC-MS. The production titers of halogenated compounds from Streptomyces diacarni SCSIO 64983 exceeded those of other similar strains leading us to focus on SCSIO 64983. Four new thiocarbazomycins A-B (1-2), chlocarbazomycin E (3), and brocarbazomycin A (4), together with three known chlocarbazomycins A-C (5-7) containing a carbazole core were identified, and their structures were determined using a combination of spectroscopic analysis including HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR. Structurally speaking, compounds 1 and 2 have the rare sulfur-containing carbazole nuclei, and 3 and 4 contain Cl and Br atoms, respectively. Although these compounds have not yet been found to have obvious biological activity, their discovery highlights the role of molecular libraries in subsequent drug discovery campaigns.

Brevibacillus marinus sp. nov., a thermophilic bacterium isolated from deep sea sediment in the South China Sea.

A novel thermophilic bacterium, designated SCSIO 07484T, was isolated from marine sediment sampled in the South China Sea. Growth occurred at 30-60 °C, pH 6.0-8.0 and in the presence of 0-3 % (w/v) NaCl. Cells of strain SCSIO 07484T were rod-shaped and flagellum-forming. No soluble pigment was observed. The phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that SCSIO 07484T belonged to the family Paenibacillaceae and clustered with members of the genus Brevibacillus in the phylogenetic trees with less than 96.2 % similarities. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. Whole-cell hydrolysates contained arabinose, glucose and ribose. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7. Major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C14 : 0. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine were its diagnostic polar lipids. The whole genome size of strain SCSIO 07484T was 4 079 826 bp with a DNA G+C content of 56.2 mol%, including one circular chromosome of 3 978392 bp and one plasmid of 101434 bp. Based on the polyphasic analysis of strain SCSIO 07484T, it is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Brevibacillus, for which the name Brevibacillus marinus sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain SCSIO 07484T (=DSM 106769T=CGMCC 1.15814T).

Structurally various sorbicillinoids from the deep-sea sediment derived fungus Penicillium sp. SCSIO06871.

Two new hybrid sorbicillinoids (1 and 5), three new bisorbicillinoids (2-4), and three monomeric sorbicillinoids (6-8), along with eighteen known sorbicillinoids (9-26) were isolated from cultures of the deep-sea sediment derived fungus Penicillium sp. SCSIO06871. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated based upon the extensive spectroscopic analysis, X-ray crystallography analysis and the comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD data. Bisorbicillpyrone A (4) is the first example of bisorbicillinoid containing an α-pyrone derivative unit. All of the isolated compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial, antifungal and enzyme inhibitory activities against α-glycosidase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in vitro. Compound 6 displayed more potent inhibitory activity against α-glycosidase than acarbose with IC50 value of 36.0 µM and compounds 4, 12, 18, 22, 23 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging from 115.8 to 208.5 µM. Compounds 10 and 22 showed weak enzyme inhibitory activities against AChE with 55.1% and 51.1% inhibitions at concentration of 50 µg/mL, respectively. Besides, compounds 11 and 12 exhibited significant antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus with MIC values of 10.0 and 5.0 µg/mL, respectively. The hypothetical biosynthetic pathway of the isolated sorbicillinoids with three different structural types was discussed.

Identification and Heterologous Expression of the Kendomycin B Biosynthetic Gene Cluster from Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399.

Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399, a rare marine-derived actinomycete, produces a set of ansamycin-like polyketides kendomycin B-D (1-3) which possess potent antibacterial activities and moderate tumor cytotoxicity. Structurally, kendomycin B-D contain a unique aliphatic macrocyclic ansa scaffold in which the highly substituted pyran ring is connected to the quinone moiety. In this work, a type I/type III polyketide synthase (PKS) hybrid biosynthetic gene cluster coding for assembly of kendomycin B (kmy), and covering 33 open reading frames, was identified from Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399. The kmy cluster was found to be essential for kendomycin B biosynthesis as verified by gene disruption and heterologous expression. Correspondingly, a biosynthetic pathway was proposed based on bioinformatics, cluster alignments, and previous research. Additionally, the role of type III PKS for generating the precursor unit 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,5-DHBA) was demonstrated by chemical complementation, and type I PKS executed the polyketide chain elongation. The kmy cluster was found to contain a positive regulatory gene kmy4 whose regulatory effect was identified using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). These advances shed important new insights into kendomycin B biosynthesis and help to set the foundation for further research aimed at understanding and exploiting the carbacylic ansa scaffold.

Structurally Diverse Polycyclic Salicylaldehyde Derivative Enantiomers from a Marine-Derived Fungus Eurotium sp. SCSIO F452.

To enlarge the chemical diversity of Eurotium sp. SCSIO F452, a talented marine-derived fungus, we further investigated its chemical constituents from a large-scale fermentation with modified culture. Four pairs of new salicylaldehyde derivative enantiomers, euroticins F-I (1-4), as well as a known one eurotirumin (5) were isolated and characterized. Compound 1 features an unprecedented constructed 6/6/6/5 tetracyclic structures, while 2 and 3 represent two new types of 6/6/5 scaffolds. Their structures were established by comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, X-ray diffraction, 13C NMR, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. Selected compounds showed significant inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and moderate cytotoxic activities against SF-268, MCF-7, HepG2, and A549 cell lines.

Rubrobacter tropicus sp. nov. and Rubrobacter marinus sp. nov., isolated from deep-sea sediment of the South China Sea.

Two novel Gram-stain-positive bacteria, designated as SCSIO 52909T and SCSIO 52915T, were isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected at about 3448 m water depth of the South China Sea. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genomic characteristics were investigated. These strains were aerobic and tested positive for catalase activity, oxidase activity and nitrate reduction. Optimal growth occurred at 28 °C, pH 7 and 3% salinity over 14 days cultivation. Its peptidoglycan structure was type A3α (l-Lys-l-Ala) and the only menaquinone was MK-8. Both strains possessed diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified phosphoglycolipid, an unidentified glycolipid and an unidentified phospholipid. Their major fatty acids differed, but both contained iso-branched components of C16 : 0 12-methyl. Genome sequencing revealed two large genomes of 4.58 Mbp with G+C content of 67.0 mol% in SCSIO 52909T and of 4.42 Mbp with G+C content of 69.1 % in SCSIO 52915T. The two novel strains encoded genes for metabolism that are absent in most other Rubrobacter species, and possessed many more gene copy numbers of alkaline phosphatase and thioredoxin reductase. Results of gANI and 16S rRNA gene analyses suggested that the two strains represent two new species, with 74.9, 95.0 % pairwise similarity between each other, and less than 74.3 and 93.5 % to other recognized Rubrobacter species, respectively. In the phylogenetic analysis, strains SCSIO 52909T and SCSIO 52915T were separately clustered together and formed a well-separated phylogenetic branch distinct from the other known species in the genus Rubrobacter. Based on the data presented here, these two strains should be recognized as two new species in the genus Rubrobacter, for which the names Rubrobacter tropicus sp. nov., with the type strain SCSIO 52909T (=KCTC 49412T=CGMCC 1.13853T), and Rubrobacter marinus sp. nov., with the type strain SCSIO 52915T (=KCTC 49411T=CGMCC 1.13852T), are proposed.

Actinomarinicola tropica gen. nov. sp. nov., a new marine actinobacterium of the family Iamiaceae, isolated from South China Sea sediment environments.

A novel marine actinobacterium, strain SCSIO 58843T, was isolated from the sediment sample collected from the South China Sea. Strain SCSIO 58843T was Gram-stain-positive, aerobic and rod shaped. The whole-cell hydrolysis of amino acids contained dd-DAP, alanine, glutamic acid, glycine and aspartic acid. The main menaquinone was MK-9(H8). The major fatty acids were C17 : 1 ω8c and C17 : 0. The major phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phospatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositolmannoside (PIM). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 72.5 %. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SCSIO 58843T formed a new lineage in the family Iamiaceae and had the highest similarity of 93.8 % with Iamia majanohamensis DSM 19957T. Strain SCSIO 58843T can be distinguished from these known genera in the family Iamiaceae by polyphasic data analyses, and represents a novel genus and novel species, for which Actinomarinicola tropica gen. nov., sp. nov is proposed with the type strain SCSIO 58843T(=KCTC 49408T=CGMCC 1.17503T).

Euroticins A and B, Two Pairs of Highly Constructed Salicylaldehyde Derivative Enantiomers from a Marine-Derived Fungus Eurotium sp. SCSIO F452.

Two pairs of salicylaldehyde derivative enantiomers, euroticins A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from a marine-derived fungus Eurotium sp. SCSIO F452. Compound 1 possesses a highly constructed 6/6/6/5/7 pentacyclic structure featuring an unprecedented 2,11-dioxatricyclo[5.3.1.04,8]undecane core. Compound 2 represents the first example of 6/6/6/6 tetracyclic salicylaldehyde derivative. Their structures were established by spectroscopic analyses, X-ray diffraction, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and 13C NMR calculations. Compounds (+)-2 and (-)-2 exhibited remarkable antioxidative activities.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitorsfrom the deep-sea fungus Penicillium chrysogenum SCSIO 07007.

Three new compounds, including two new 3,4,6-trisubstituted α-pyrone derivatives, chrysopyrones A and B (1 and 2), and one new indolyl diketopiperazine derivative, penilline C (3), along with twelve known compounds (4-15), were isolated and identified from the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum SCSIO 07007, separated from deep-sea hydrothermal vent environment sample collected from the Western Atlantic. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. All of the isolated compounds (1-15) were evaluated for their cytotoxic, antibacterial activities and enzyme inhibitory activities against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), α-glycosidase, and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). Among them, new compounds chrysopyrones A and B (1 and 2) displayed obvious inhibitory activities against PTP1B with IC50 values of 9.32 and 27.8 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed to investigate the inside perspective of the action in PTP1B enzyme.

Staphylospora marina gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Thermoactinomycetaceae, isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in the Pacific Ocean.

A novel bacterium, designated SCSIO 07575T, was isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal sediment sample collected from the western Pacific Ocean. Growth at 65 °C was observed, but not at 70 °C or below 37 °C. The optimum conditions for growth were at 55-65 °C, pH 7.0 and in the presence of 2 % (w/v) NaCl. Strain SCSIO 07575T showed filamentous growth. Unstable formation of white aerial mycelia was observed, which disappeared after several times' subculture. Abundant substrate mycelia were observed with grape-like spores. No soluble pigment was observed. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that SCSIO 07575T belonged to the family Thermoactinomycetaceae and formed a distinct clade in the phylogenetic tree. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. Whole-cell hydrolysates contained ribose, xylose, glucose and galactose. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid and two unidentified phospholipids. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7. Major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. Based on the whole genome sequence analysis, the genome size was 2 751 094 bp with a DNA G+C value of 57.2 mol%, including one circular chromosome and one plasmid. On the basis of polyphasic data, strain SCSIO 07575T represented a novel species of a new genus within the family Thermoactinomycetaceae, for which the name Staphylospora gen. nov. is proposed with the type species Staphylospora marina sp. nov. and the type strain SCSIO 07575T (=DSM 106793T=CGMCC 1.15879T).

Cytotoxic Kendomycins Containing the Carbacylic Ansa Scaffold from the Marine-Derived Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399.

Three new kendomycin analogues, kendomycins B-D (1-3), were discovered from the marine-derived actinomycete Verrucosispora sp. SCSIO 07399. The structures of 1-3 were elucidated using diverse spectroscopic data analyses, X-ray crystallography, and semisynthetic derivatization. In vitro antimicrobial assays revealed that 1-3 all display good antibacterial activities against six Gram-positive bacteria with MIC values ranging from 0.5 to 8.0 µg/mL. Additionally, 1-3 were found to be moderately cytotoxic against MGC803, A549, HeLa, HepG2, MCF-7, and RKO human tumor cell lines; IC50 values ranged from 2.2 to 44 µM.