Ancylobacter sonchi sp nov., a novel methylotrophic bacterium from roots of Sonchus arvensis L.

An aerobic facultatively methylotrophic bacterium was isolated from roots of Sonchus arvensis L. and designated strain Osot(T) The cells of this strain were Gram-stain-negative, asporogenous, motile short rods multiplying by binary fisson. They utilized methanol, methylamines and a variety of polycarbon compounds as the carbon and energy sources. Methanol was assimilated after sequential oxidation to formaldehyde and CO2 via the ribulose bisphosphate pathway. The organism grew optimally at 22-29 degrees C and pH 7.5-8.0. The dominant phospholipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol (cardiolipin). The major cellular fatty acids of strain Osot(T) cells grown in R2A medium were C-18 (:) (1)omega 7c (49.0 %), C-19 (:) (0)omega 8c cyclo (38.3 %) and C-16 (:) (0) (8.4 %). The major ubiquinone was Q-10. The DNA G+C content of strain Osot(T) was 66.1 mol% (T-m). On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis strain Osot(T) is phylogenetically related to the members of genus Ancylobacter (97.1-98.8% sequence similarity). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and DNA-DNA relatedness (27-29 %) with type strains of the genus Ancylobacter, the novel isolate is classified as a new species of this genus and named Ancylobacter sonchi sp. nov.; the type strain is Osot(T) (=VKM B-3145(T)=JCM 32039(T)).