Pedobacter agri sp nov., from soil

A Gram-negative strain, PB92(T), which belongs to the family Sphingobacteriaceae, was isolated from soil (Daejeon, Korea). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain PB92(T) was associated with the genus Pedobacter and was most closely related to the type strains Pedobacter sandarakinus DS-27(T) (97.7 %), Pedobacter roseus CL-Gp80(T) (97.5 %) and Pedobacter suvvonensis 15-52(T) (97.5 %). The major cellular fatty acid components of strain PB92(T) were C(16:1)omega 7c (21.4 %), iso-C(15:0) (30.8 %), iso-C(17:0) 3-OH (9.3 %) and iso-C(15:0) 2-OH (11.2 %). The G + C content of the genomic DNA from strain PB92(T) was 41.4 mol%. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, as well as physiological and biochemical tests, indicated that strain PB92(T) could be differentiated genotypically and phenotypically from reference species of the genus Pedobacter. Strain PB92(T) (=KCTC 12511(T) =DSM 19486(T)) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species, Pedobacter agri sp. nov.