Joostella marina

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Classification

Higher order taxa

Bacteria; Bacteroidetes; Flavobacteria; Flavobacteriales; Flavobacteriaceae; Joostella:

Species

Joostella Marina

Description and significance

Joostella marina is a bright yellow, gram negative, aerobic bacteria. Joostella marina is a member of the Flavobacteriacea family. This family is composed of at least 72 different genus’s including Joostella.

Joostella marina is a non-motile bacteria. When joostella marina forms colonies they appear translucent and shiny. The cells are usually 1.0-2.0 µm long and 0.20-0.30 µm wide.

Habitat

Joostella marina is a marine microbe found in coastal seawater in the East Sea of Korea. This microbe was discovered at a depth of 100 meters. The East Sea of Korea, also known as the Sea of Japan, is unique because it has virtually no tides. This is because it is almost completely closed off from the Pacific Ocean. This sea also has lower salinity and a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen than the oceans. These conditions allow for a wide array of aquatic life.

The optimum environment for growth of Joostella marina has a pH range of 5.3-7.6, a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, and a NaCl concentration of 1-3%.

Metabolism

Joostella marina is able to metabolize a wide range of sugars including glucose, sucrose, arabinose, mannose, maltose, and starch. This allows a wider array of food sources to be consumed by joostella marina. The major fatty acids are iso-C15:0, iso-C17:03-OH, and iso-C17:1v9c.

Current Research

Joostella marina was discovered by researchers in 2008. It is identified as strain En5T. This microbe is the only species that has been discovered so far in the joostella genus.

References

[1. "An Introduction to the Family Flavobacteriaceae". The Prokaryotes. New York: Springer. 2006. pp. 455–480.]

[2. Uda, Michitaka. "Sea of Japan (sea, Pacific Ocean)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.]

[3. Zhe-Xue Quan, Yi-Ping Xiao, and Et. All. "Joostella Marina Gen. Nov., Sp. Nov., a Novel Member of the Family Flavobacteriaceae Isolated from the East Sea." International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. N.p., 2008. Web. Mar. 2014.]

Edited by Kelsey O'Neil, student of Rachel Larsen at the University of Southern Maine