''Aestuariicella'' is a rod-shaped,

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

, and strictly

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

genus of bacteria from the order

Alteromonadales The Alteromonadales are an order of Pseudomonadota. Although they have been treated as a single family, the Alteromonadaceae, they were divided into eight by Ivanova ''et al.'' in 2004. The cells are straight or curved rods. They are motile by th ...

with one known species (''

Aestuariicella hydrocarbonica ''Aestuariicella'' is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative, and strictly aerobic genus of bacteria from the order Alteromonadales with one known species ('' Aestuariicella hydrocarbonica''). ''Aestuariicella hydrocarbonica'' was first isolated in 2015 fro ...

''). ''Aestuariicella hydrocarbonica'' was first isolated in 2015 from oil spill contaminated tidal flat sediments from the

Dangjin bay Dangjin () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It stands on the south shore of the Bay of Asan. Dangjin borders Incheon, Pyeongtaek, and Hwaseong by sea, and Seosan, Yesan, and Asan by land. Its name means " Tang ferry," an ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Due to the recent nature of its discovery, its taxonomic classification has not yet been accepted. Future research into its evolutionary history and genome may change the naming of this organism. While rare in seawater, ''A. hydrocarbonica'' has shown a strong association with plastic debris of various polymer types. It is commonly found along with other

gammaproteobacteria Gammaproteobacteria is a class of bacteria in the phylum Pseudomonadota (synonym Proteobacteria). It contains about 250 genera, which makes it the most genera-rich taxon of the Prokaryotes. Several medically, ecologically, and scientifically imp ...

capable of degrading

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...

s and other high-molecular-mass polymers. Bio-degradation tests have shown that it is capable of breaking down a variety of hydrocarbon polymers. However, it does not degrade the plant polymers

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

and

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

. These organisms are tetracycline sensitive, but are vulnerable to all other common antibiotics. The distribution of ''A. hydrocarbonica'' is not yet described, but studies have found its presence in samples from South Korea and the Mediterranean Sea. This suggests that it may have a broad geographic distribution or be associated with area with high human impact.

References

Alteromonadales Bacteria genera Monotypic bacteria genera {{Alteromonadales-stub