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Pollution of marine environments with microplastic particles (i.e. plastic fragments

A bright-orange-pigmented, Gram-stain-negative, motile, and rod-shaped bacterium, strain MAA42T, was isolated from a marine sponge of the genus Haliclona, which is in long-time culture in a marine aquarium system at the Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany. The strain grew at 4–34 °C (optimum 28 °C), in the presence of 0.5–9.5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 3.5 %) and at pH 4.5–10.0 (optimum pH 7.5). Strain MAA42T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (98.1 %) with the type strain of Litorimonas taeanensis. Sequence similarities to all other closely related type strains were below 97 %. DNA–DNA hybridization of strain MAA42T with L. taeanensis DSM 22008T resulted in values of 4.7 % (reciprocal 17.7 %). Major cellular fatty acids of strain MAA42T were C18 : 1ω7c (66.2 %), C18 : 1 2-OH (17.4 %), and C18 : 0 (14.1 %). Spermidine was predominant in the polyamine pattern, and ubiquinone Q-10 was the major respiratory quinone. The polar lipid profile contained the major compounds phosphatidylglycerol, monoglycosyldiglyceride, three unidentified phospholipids, and one unidentified glycolipid. Glucuronopyranosyldiglyceride was present as a minor compound. The diagnostic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The genomic DNA G+C content was 52.8 mol%. Based on the genotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phenotypic analyses, strain MAA42T represents a novel species of the genus Litorimonas , for which the name Litorimonas haliclonae is proposed. The type strain is MAA42T (=CCM 8709T=CIP 111178T=LMG 29765T).

Traditional surface area and volume quantification techniques for scleractinian corals are often destructive or inaccurate. Therefore, non-destructive 3D scanning methods have been applied as minimally invasive alternative. However, it remains largely unknown how the reproducibility of the measurement is affected by the complexity of the coral colonies. It is also unclear how the scanning procedure (handling, exposure to air, and light of the scanner) impacts the corals’ health. In this study, we used a high-end handheld 3D scanner, which combines a structured-light with an image-based approach, to investigate the reproducibility of surface area and volume measurements as well as handling effects. Corals with different shape complexity, covering branching and massive species, were used as model organisms. The variance of repetitive scans ranged from 0.13% to 1.31% for volume and from 0.09% to 0.58% for surface area calculations. Linear regression models indicated that reproducibility decreases with increasing complexity of the coral. Excessive scanning caused an increase or decrease of growth rates, depending on the studied species. However, it did not impair coral health. We conclude that 3D scanning is a highly precise, reproducible, and minimally invasive method for coral surface area and volume measurements, which allows for quick processing of large datasets. Detailed technical recommendations for the application of 3D scanning in coral research are provided in the manuscript.

A yellow-pigmented, Gram-stain-negative, motile and rod-shaped bacterium, strain M1A16T, was isolated from the internal tissue of a sponge of the genus Haliclona, which was long-term cultured in the CEMarin aquaria system at Justus Liebig University of Giessen. The strain grew well at 20–32 °C (optimum 25 °C), in the presence of 0–6 % NaCl (optimum 3 %), and at pH 5.5–9.0 (optimum pH 7.0–8.0). Phylogenetic analysis based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the strain within the monophyletic cluster of the genus Winogradskyella with highest sequence similarity to Winogradskyella jejuensis CP32T (98.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Sequence similarities to all other type strains were 98.0 % or less. DNA–DNA hybridization of strain M1A16T with W. jejuensis CP32T resulted in hybridization values of 44.1 % (reciprocal 68.1 %). Major cellular fatty acids of strain M1A16T were iso-C15 : 1 G (18.1 %), iso-C15 : 0 (13.7 %), C16 : 1ω7c (12.9 %), iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (10.6 %) and iso-C16 : 0 3-OH (10.2 %). The overall polyamine content was very low with major components being cadaverine, spermidine and sym-homospermidine. The major quinone was menaquinone MK-6. The polar lipid profile contained predominantly phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified aminolipids and two unidentified lipids devoid of a detectable functional group. The genomic DNA G+C content was 32.7 mol%. Based on the phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic analyses, strain M1A16T represents a novel species of the genus Winogradskyella , for which the name Winogradskyella haliclonae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is M1A16T (=DSM 103138T=CCM 8681T=LMG 29588T=CIP 111091T).