Sphingomonas agri sp nov., a bacterium isolated from soil

A Gram-reaction-negative, aerobic, non-motile, white (translucent) and rod-shaped bacterium (designated HKS-06(T)) isolated from soil was characterized by a polyphasic approach to clarify its taxonomic position. Strain HKS-06(T) was observed to grow optimally at 30 degrees C and at pH 6.5-7.0 on R2A agar medium. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain HKS-06(T) belongs to the genus Sphingomonas and is most closely related to Sphingomonas lutea JS5(T) (97.4% similarity). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 64.1 mol%. Chemotaxonomic data [major quinone (Q-10), major polar lipids (phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, sphingoglycolipid, phosphatidylcholine, unknown polar lipid) and major fatty acids (summed feature 8, comprising C-18 : 1 omega 7c/omega 6c and/or C-18 : 1 omega 6c, C-18 : 0 3-OH and C-16 : 0)] supported the affiliation of strain HKS-06(T) to the genus Sphingomonas. Moreover, the physiological and biochemical results and low level of DNA-DNA relatedness [between strain HKS06(T) and S. lutea JS5(T) (20.24 +/- 1.2 %)] allowed the phenotypic and genotypic differentiation of strain HKS-06(T) from recognized species of the genus Sphingomonas. The new isolate therefore represents a novel species, for which the name Sphingomonas agri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HKS-06(T) (=KACC 18880(T) = LMG 29563(T)).