Emticicia ginsengisoli sp nov., a species of the family Flexibacteraceae isolated from soil of a ginseng field

Abstract

A taxonomic study was carried out on Gsoil 085(T), a bacterial strain isolated from a soil sample from a ginseng field in Pocheon Province (South Korea). Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence studies showed a clear affiliation of this bacterium to the family 'Flexibacteraceae' and indicated that the closest relative was Emticicia oligotrophica GPTSA100-15(T) (94.6% sequence similarity). Lower sequence similarities (<83.0%) were found with respect to all other recognized species of the family 'Flexibacteraceae'. Strain Gsoil 085(T) was found to be Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped. It grew well on half-strength R2A medium but did not utilize a broad range of carbon sources. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 40.5 mol%. The major fatty acids were summed feature 4 iso-C(15:0) 2-OH and/or C(16:1)omega 7c, 45.4%), iso-C(15:0) (13.9%), C(16:1)omega 5c (8.6%) and C(16:0) (8.2%). On the basis of evidence from the polyphasic study, strain Gsoil 085(T) represents a novel species of the genus Emticicia, for which the name Emticicia ginsengisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Gsoil 085(T) (=KCTC 12588(T) = LMG 23396(T)).