Tetragenococcus koreensis sp. nov., a novel rhamnolipid-producing bacterium.

A Gram-positive, non-motile, non-spore-forming coccus (strain JS(T)) was isolated from kimchi (a traditional Korean food) and investigated using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain JS(T) and its closest relative, Tetragenococcus halophilus IAM 1676(T), was 98.1%. The level of DNA-DNA relatedness between the two strains was 9.7%. Strain JS(T) had a DNA G+C content of 38.3% and a cellular fatty acid profile containing 16:0, 18:1 and cyclo fatty acids. Phylogenetic data and genomic and phenotypic features demonstrated that strain JS(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Tetragenococcus koreensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JS(T) (=KCTC 3924(T)=DSM 16501(T)=LMG 22864(T)).