Pedobacter luteus sp nov., isolated from soil

Two strains of Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that were motile by gliding, N7d-4(T) and B4a-b5, were isolated during a study of culturable bacteria in soil cultivated with potatoes. These isolates grew at 15-37 degrees C and at pH 6.5-7.0. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (iso-C-15:0 2-OH and/or C-16:1 omega 7c), anteiso-C-15:0, iso-C-15:0, iso-C-17:0 3-OH and iso-C-17:1 omega 9c. The major polar lipids were phosphatidyl-N-methylethanolamine and phosphatidylethanolamine. The strains contained d-18:0 and d-19:0 sphingosines. The DNA G+C contents of strains N7d-4(T) and B4a-b5 were 48.5 and 46.9 mol% (HPLC), respectively. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains N7d-4(T) and B4a-b5 were affiliated with Pedobacter species in the family Sphingobacteriaceae. Strains N7d-4(T) and B4a-b5 shared 99.9% sequence similarity, and the most closely related Pedobacter type strains were Pedobacter composti TR6-06(T) (96.5 and 96.7% sequence similarity, respectively), P. oryzae N7(T) (95.4 and 95.6%) and P. caeni LMG 22862(T) (94.0 and 94.4%). Phenotypic data and phylogenetic inference clearly distinguished the two isolates from other Pedobacter species. Based on these data, the isolates are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pedobacter, for which the name Pedobacter luteus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N7d-4(T) (=KCTC 22699(T) =DSM 22385(T)).