Virgibacillus soli sp. nov., isolated from mountain soil

Abstract

A Gram-positive bacterium (strain CC-YMP-6T) was isolated from soil samples collected from Yang-Ming Mountain, Taiwan. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain CC-YMP-6T clearly belonged to the genus Virgibacillus and was most closely related to the type strains of Virgibacillus halophilus (96.2 % similarity) and Virgibacillus kekensis (96.3 %). The predominant isoprenoid quinone was menaquinone MK-7 and the polar lipid profile was composed of the major components diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and one unidentified phospholipid plus moderate amounts of two unidentified aminophospholipids and a phospholipid. The polyamine pattern comprised spermidine as the single major component with spermine and putrescine present in minor amounts. The major fatty acids of strain CC-YMP-6T were iso-C15 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed the clear phenotypic differentiation of strain CC-YMP-6T from all recognized species of the genus Virgibacillus. Strain CC-YMP-6T is therefore considered to represent a novel species of the genus Virgibacillus, for which the name Virgibacillus soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CC-YMP-6T (=DSM 22952T=CCM 7714T).