Pedobacter jeongneungensis sp. nov., isolated from forest soil

Strain BH45T was isolated from forest soil of Mt. Bukhan in Jeongneung, Seoul, Korea. The Gram-staining-negative strain BH45T grows at 4–30°C (optimum of 25–30°C) and between pH 5–8 (optimum of pH 6–8). Its major cellular fatty acids are C18:3ω6c (6,9,12) and C10:0. The G+C content of genomic DNA was 40.2 mol%. The major respiratory quinone system in strain BH45T is menaquinone-7. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicates that strain BH45T is closely related to the genus Pedobacter. Sequence similarities with P. terrae KCTC 12762T, P. suwonensis KACC 11317T, P. soli KACC 14939T, P. alluvionis DSM 19624T, P. roseus KCCM 42272T, P. yonginense KCTC 22721T were 97.5, 97.1, 97.0, 97.0, 97.0, and 96.0%, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization results distinguish strain BH45T from two Pedobacter species with high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities. According to the phenotypic and molecular data, the strain BH45T clearly represents a novel species within the genus Pedobacter; thus, the name Pedobacter jeongneungensis sp. nov. is proposed for this strain. The type strain is BH45T (=KACC 15514T =JCM 17626T).