Paenibacillus mendelii sp. nov., from surface-sterilized seeds of Pisum sativum L.

A Gram-variable, facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming bacterium was isolated from surface-sterilized seeds of the garden pea and characterized with phenotypic and molecular methods. A PCR with the Paenibacillus-specific primer PAEN515F and the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain C/2T belongs to the genus Paenibacillus and is closely related to Paenibacillus phyllosphaerae (94.0 % sequence similarity). Strain C/2T generated a unique phenotypic profile, in particular for the production of acid from substrates. The DNA G+C content (50.8 mol%) and the major fatty acid (anteiso-C(15 : 0)) are consistent with the genus Paenibacillus. DNA-DNA hybridization distinguished strain C/2T from other phylogenetically related Paenibacillus species and, therefore, strain C/2T (=CCM 4839T=LMG 23002T) is here described as the type strain of a novel species, for which the name Paenibacillus mendelii sp. nov. is proposed.