The bacterial diversity of an Antarctic hard coral, Errina fissurata, was examined by isolating bacterial colonies from crushed coral tissue and by sequencing their 16S rRNA gene. From the analyzed results, the bacteria were classified as Actinobacteria (56%), Firmicutes (35%) and Proteobacteria (9%). The thirty-four isolates were cultured in liquid media at different temperatures and their growth was assessed over time. The majority of the isolates displayed their highest growth rate at 25℃ during the first three days of cultivation, even though the coral was from a cold environment. Nevertheless, strains showing their highest growth rate at low temperatures (15℃ and 4℃) were also found. This study reports the composition of an Antarctic hard coral-associated culturable bacterial community and their growth behavior at different temperatures.

Introduction
Materials and Methods
    1. Sample collection and isolation of coralassociatedbacteria
    2. Identification of microorganisms
    3. Phylogenetic tree
    4. Effect of temperature on cell growth
Results
    1. Isolation of bacteria from an Antarctic hard coral
    2. Identification and phylogenetic analysis
    3. Effect of temperature on cell growth
Discussion

• Min Ju Kim(Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Korea)
• Ha Ju Park(Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Korea)
• Ui Joung Youn(Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Korea)
• Joung Han Yim(Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Korea)
• Se Jong Han(Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Korea, Department of Polar Sciences, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea) Corresponding author