Paenibacillus contaminans sp nov., isolated from a contaminated laboratory plate

A bacterial strain, designated CKOBP-6(T), isolated from a contaminated laboratory plate, was characterized by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Chemotaxonomic and morphological properties of the strain were consistent with its classification in the genus Paenibacillus. Cells were Gram-variable, aerobic, sporulating, motile rods. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated that this novel isolate was unique, showing 94.6% sequence similarity to Paenibacillus chitinolyticus NBRC 15660(T) and lower levels of similarity to Paenibacillus gansuensis KCTC 3950(T) (93.8%) and Paenibacillus terrigena A35(T) (93.8%). The novel isolate could be distinguished from the type strains of all of these species based on a range of phenotypic data. The major cellular phospholipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and one unknown phosphoglycolipid. The predominant isoprenologue was an unsaturated menaquinone with seven isoprene units (MK-7). The major fatty acids of strain CKOBP-6(T) were C-16:0 (112.0%), anteiso-C-15:0 (52.0%) and iso-C-16:0 (116.4%). The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 51.2 mol%. It is evident from the genotypic and phenotypic data that strain CKOBP-6(T) should be classified as a representative of a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus contaminans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CKOBP-6(T) (=BCRC 17728(T) =LMG 24216(T)).