Paenibacillus tianmuensis sp. nov., isolated from soil

Abstract

Two closely related, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, spore-forming strains, B27T and F6-B70, were isolated from soil samples of Tianmu Mountain National Natural Reserve in Zhejiang, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and rpoB sequences indicated that the isolates were members of the genus Paenibacillus. Both isolates were closely related to Paenibacillus ehimensis IFO 15659T, Paenibacillus elgii SD17T and Paenibacillus koreensis YC300T (≥95.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). DNA–DNA relatedness between strain B27T and P. ehimensis DSM 11029T, P. elgii NBRC 100335T and P. koreensis KCTC 2393T was 21.2, 28.6 and 16.8 %, respectively. The major cellular fatty acids of strains B27T and F6-B70 were anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The two isolates differed from their closest neighbours in terms of phenotypic characteristics and cellular fatty acid profiles (such as variable for oxidase, negative for methyl red test, unable to produce acid from d-fructose and glycogen and relatively higher amounts of iso-C15 : 0 and lower amounts of C16 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0). Strains B27T and F6-B70 represent a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus tianmuensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is B27T ( = DSM 22342T  = CGMCC 1.8946T).