Recent advance in the marine genus Salinispora

Abstract:

A major group of obligate marine bacteria (designated MAR 1) within the order Actinomycetales has been discovered from tropical and sub-tropical ocean sediments, and was proposed to establish a novel genus Salinospora based on morphological, physiological, biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The genus was validly published in 2005 and the name proposed for this novel taxon was corrected as Salinispora, which is the first obligate marine genus within the order Actinomycetales. Moreover, Salinispora is a rich source of novel biologically active secondary metabolites. In recent years, lots of research achievements on the genus Salinispora were reported. The objective of this review is to summarize the research advance, such as establish process of the genus, the taxonomic characteristics, physiological and ecological research, as well as recent studies in molecular biology and secondary metabolites in the genus Salinispora.