Brachybacterium zhongshanense sp. nov., a cellulose-decomposing bacterium from sediment along the Qijiang River, Zhongshan City, China.

A cellulose-decomposing bacterium, strain JBT, was isolated from sediments along the Qijiang River, Zhongshan City, China. Results of morphological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic characterization and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain JBT belonged to the genus Brachybacterium. Insertion sequence-PCR fingerprinting patterns, DNA base ratio analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization data showed that strain JBT differed from recognized species of the genus Brachybacterium. Based on polyphasic analysis, strain JBT represents a novel species of the genus Brachybacterium, for which the name Brachybacterium zhongshanense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JBT (=LMG 23926T=CGMCC 1.6508T=DSM 18832T).