Chimaereicella boritolerans sp. nov., a boron-tolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from soil

Abstract

A non-motile, Gram-negative, boron-tolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium was isolated from soil of the Hisarcik area in the Kutahya Province of Turkey that was naturally high in boron minerals. The novel isolate, designated T-22T, formed rod-shaped cells, was catalase- and oxidase-positive and tolerated up to 300 mM boron. The strain also survived on agar medium containing up to 3 % (w/v) NaCl. The pH range for growth of this strain was 6.5–10.0 (optimum pH 8.0–9.0) and the temperature range was 16–37 °C (optimum 28–30 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a clear affiliation with the genusChimaereicella, with 97.4 % sequence similarity toChimaereicella alkaliphilaAC-74T, which was the highest similarity among cultivated bacteria. The DNA–DNA relatedness withC. alkaliphilaAC-74Twas 28.3 %. The major respiratory quinone system was MK-7 and the predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 1ω9c, iso-C17 : 03-OH and summed feature 3 (iso-C15 : 02-OH and/or iso-C16 : 1ω7c). The DNA G+C content was 42.5 mol%. Based on the phylogenetic analysis and physiological, chemotaxonomic and genetic data, we concluded that strain T-22Tshould be classified in the genusChimaereicella, and we propose the nameChimaereicella boritoleranssp. nov. for this novel species. The type strain is strain T-22T(=DSM 17298T=NBRC 101277T=ATCC BAA-1189T).