Genome sequence of Vibrio fluvialis 362.3 isolated from coral Mussismilia braziliensis reveals genes related to marine environment adaptation.

Vibrio fluvialis is a halophilic bacterium frequently found in estuarine and coastal waters environments. The strain 362.3 was isolated from Mussismilia braziliensis coral of Abrolhos Bank. In this study, to gain insights into the marine adaptation in V. fluvialis, we sequenced the genome of 362.3 strain, which comprised 4,607,294 bp with a G + C content of 50.2%. In silico analysis showed that V. fluvialis 362.2 encodes genes related to chitin catabolic pathway, iron metabolism, osmotic stress and membrane transport.

Rapid screening of marine bacterial symbionts using MALDI-TOF MS.

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a rapid, cost-effective and high-throughput method for bacteria characterization. However, most previous studies focused on clinical isolates. In this study, we evaluated the use of MALDI-TOF MS as a rapid screening tool for marine bacterial symbionts. A set of 255 isolates from different marine sources (corals, sponge, fish and seawater) was analyzed using cell lysates to obtain a rapid grouping. Cluster analysis of mass spectra and 16S rRNA showed 18 groups, including Vibrio, Bacillus, Pseudovibrio, Alteromonas and Ruegeria. MALDI-TOF distance similarity scores ≥ 60% and ≥ 70% correspond to ≥ 98.7% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity and ≥ 95% pyrH gene sequence similarity, respectively. MALDI-TOF MS is a useful tool for Vibrio species groups' identification.

Halomonas coralii sp. nov. Isolated from Mussismilia braziliensis.

We report here the novel species Halomonas coralii. The nearly complete genome of strain 362.1T consisted of 4.4 Mbp (3989 CDS; 66.3% GC). Genomic taxonomy analysis demonstrates that the novel strain has < 83% AAI and < 29% GGDH towards its closest neighbors.