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Three novel Rubripirellula species isolated from plastic particles submerged in the Baltic Sea and the estuary of the river Warnow in northern Germany
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Researchers isolated three novel species of Planctomycetes bacteria — a phylum with unusual cell biology and biotechnology potential — directly from polystyrene and polyethylene plastic particles submerged in the Baltic Sea and a German river estuary, illustrating how plastic surfaces selectively host unique microbial communities.
Planctomycetes are a unique and important phylum containing mostly aquatic bacteria, which are often associated with phototrophic surfaces. A complex lifestyle, their potential for the production of bioactive small molecules, their unusual cell biology and a large number of giant and hypothetical genes in their genomes make these microorganisms a fascinating topic for further research. Here, we characterise three novel planctomycetal strains isolated from polystyrene and polyethylene particles that were submerged in the German part of the Baltic Sea and the estuary of the river Warnow. All three strains showed typical planctomycetal traits such as division by polar budding and formation of rosettes. The isolated strains were mesophilic and neutrophilic chemoheterotrophs and reached generation times of 10-25 h during laboratory-scale cultivation. Taxonomically, the three strains belong to the genus Rubripirellula. Based on our analyses all three strains represent novel species, for which we propose the names Rubripirellula amarantea sp. nov., Rubripirellula tenax sp. nov. and Rubripirellula reticaptiva sp. nov. The here characterised strains Pla22 (DSM 102267 = LMG 29691), Poly51 (DSM 103356 = VKM B-3438) and Poly59 (DSM 103767 = LMG 29696) are the respective type strains of these novel species. We also emend the description of the genus Rubripirellula.
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