Draft Genome Sequences of Six Bacteria Isolated from the Benham Bank, Philippine Rise, Philippines

Abstract

We report here the draft genome sequences of six bacteria isolated from the near-bottom waters and surface sediments of the Benham Bank, Philippine Rise, Philippines. These genome sequences represent candidate novel species and/or strains from the families Flavobacteriaceae and Dermacoccaceae and the genera Idiomarina, Bacillus, and Vibrio.

Screening, Characterization, and Isolation of Pigments from Bacteria in Mesophotic Depths of the Benham Bank Seamount, Philippine Rise Region

“…Samples of near-bottom water and coral reef surface sediments were collected from sampling stations at mesophotic depths in the Benham Bank Seamount, as described previously (Rojas et al 2019). Professional technical divers collected and secured all the samples into sterile conical tubes (Appendix Tables I and IV).…”

“…This study was conducted as part of the biological surveys during the expeditions to the mesophotic coral reefs and associated ecosystems on the Benham Bank Seamount (Nacorda et al 2017) in the Philippine Rise Region. We have previously reported the draft genome sequences of six novel bacteria, isolated from samples taken during these surveys, representing candidate novel species and strains including pigmented species in the families Flavobacteriaceae, Bacillaceae, and Dermacoccaceae (Rojas et al 2019). The availability of culturable marine bacteria, together with their genomes, opened up the feasibility of probing their biotechnological potential.…”

“…the closest translated whole proteome association with Seonamhaeicola sp. S2-3 at genus speciation cut-off (65% average amino acid identity)(Rojas et al 2019), suggesting that the 16S rRNA gene sequence alone was not able to resolve species delineation within members of the family, requiring at least several concatenated gene comparisons(Gavriilidou et al 2020) and finer taxonomic resolution by comparative genomics. .…”

“…Although isolate BR61 had a high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strain, there were still striking phenotypic differences. Isolate BR61 colony color was pink, whereas the type strain SMC 4352-1 T was non-pigmented(Ko et al 2006) The pink phenotype of isolate BR61 was more similar to another strain, B. infantis 10Pi(Rojas et al 2019). The pink pigmentation from another marine isolate B. infantis HS8-3 was ascribed to carotenoid-like molecules (ϕ,ϕ-carotene, δ-carotene) (Hong et al 2021) similar to isolate BR61 (oceanisediminis H2 T(Zhang et al 2010), as well as the second closest type strain C. firmus IAM 12464 T (Patel and Gupta 2020).…”