Brevibacillus fulvus sp. nov., isolated from a compost pile

Abstract

Two strains, designated K2814T and K282, were isolated from a compost pile in Japan. These strains were Gram-stain-variable, aerobic, motile and endospore-forming rods. The strains produced a characteristic brown non-diffusible pigment. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of the strains were 100 % identical and had high similarity to that of Brevibacillus levickii LMG 22481T (97.3 %). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that these strains belong to the genus Brevibacillus . Strains K2814T and K282 contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in their cell walls. Strains K2814T and K282 contained MK-7 (96.0 and 97.2 %, respectively) and MK-8 (4.0 and 2.8 %, respectively) as the major and minor menaquinones, respectively. Their major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0. The DNA G+C contents of strains K2814T and K282 were 48.8 and 49.8 mol%, respectively. Polar lipids of strain K2814T were composed of phosphatidyl-N-methylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified phospholipid, three unidentified polar lipids, an unidentified aminophospholipid and an unidentified aminolipid. The level of DNA–DNA relatedness between strains K2814T and K282 was 99 or 100 %, and levels between strain K2814T and the type strains of seven related species of the genus Brevibacillus , including Brevibacillus levickii LMG 22481T, were below 59 %. From the chemotaxonomic and physiological data and the levels of DNA–DNA relatedness, these two strains should be classified as representing a novel species of the genus Brevibacillus , for which the name Brevibacillus fulvus sp. nov. (type strain K2814T = JCM 18162T = ATCC BAA-2417T = DSM 25523T) is proposed.