Paenibacillus cucumis sp. nov. isolated from greenhouse soil

Strain CO 4–7T was isolated from greenhouse soil used for cultivation of cucumbers in Korea. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CO 4–7T showed the highest sequence similarity with Paenibacillus contaminans CKOBP-6T (94.2%) among the type strains. Strain CO 4–7T was a strictly aerobic, Gram-staining-positive, endospore-forming, and motile rodshaped bacterium. Strain CO 4–7T grew at 10–45°C (optimum, 30°C), at pH 6.0–7.5 (optimum, pH 6.5) and in the presence of 0–5% NaCl (optimum, 0.5%). The DNA G+C content of strain CO 4–7T was 48.5 mol%. It contained MK-7 as the major isoprenoid quinone and anteiso-C15:0 (51.8%), C16:0 (12.7%), and iso-C16:0 (8.6%) as the major fatty acids. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. Based on evidence from our polyphasic taxonomic study, it was concluded that strain CO 4-7T should be classified as a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which, the name Paenibacillus cucumis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CO 4–7T (=KACC 17444T=JCM 19515T).