Pedobacter lentus sp. nov. and Pedobacter terricola sp. nov., isolated from soil.

Two Gram-negative, non-motile, pleomorphic bacterial strains, DS-40(T) and DS-45(T), were isolated from a soil sample collected from Dokdo, Korea, and their exact taxonomic positions were investigated by using a polyphasic approach. Strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) grew optimally at 25 degrees C and pH 6.5-7.5 in the presence of 0-1.0 % (w/v) NaCl. They contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone and possessed iso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH and summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)omega7c and/or iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH) as the major fatty acids. The DNA G+C contents of strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) were 36.0 and 36.8 mol%, respectively. Strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) shared a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.7 % and demonstrated a mean DNA-DNA relatedness level of 12 %. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) were most closely phylogenetically affiliated with the genus Pedobacter of the family Sphingobacteriaceae. Strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) exhibited 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values of 91.4-93.7 and 89.9-91.6 % with respect to the type strains of Pedobacter and Sphingobacterium species, respectively. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic properties, together with the phylogenetic data, support the assignment of strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) as two distinct species within the genus Pedobacter. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic and genetic data, strains DS-40(T) and DS-45(T) represent two novel species of the genus Pedobacter, for which the names Pedobacter lentus sp. nov. and Pedobacter terricola sp. nov. are proposed, respectively. The respective type strains are DS-40(T) (=KCTC 12875(T)=JCM 14593(T)) and DS-45(T) (=KCTC 12876(T)=JCM 14594(T)).