Pseudomonas panipatensis sp. nov., isolated from an oil-contaminated site.

A Gram-negative, motile, rod-shaped, non-sporulating, aerobic bacterial strain (Esp-1(T)) was isolated from oil-contaminated soil of Panipat Oil Refinery, India, and its taxonomic position was determined using a polyphasic approach. Strain Esp-1(T) grew in the presence of 2 % NaCl at 30 degrees C and was characterized chemotaxonomically by having C(16 : 0) as the major fatty acid followed by C(17 : 0) cyclo and C(18 : 1)omega7c. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Esp-1(T) formed a cluster together with Pseudomonas knackmussii DSM 6978(T) (98.9 % sequence similarity), Pseudomonas delhiensis MTCC 7601(T) (98.5 %), Pseudomonas nitroreducens DSM 14399(T) (98.5 %), Pseudomonas citronellolis DSM 50332(T) (98.7 %), Pseudomonas multiresinivorans ATCC 700690(T) (98.9 %) and Pseudomonas jinjuensis DSM 16612(T) (97.8 %). DNA-DNA hybridization values of strain Esp-1(T) with P. knackmussii DSM 6978(T), P. delhiensis MTCC 7601(T), P. jinjuensis DSM 16612(T), P. citronellolis DSM 50332(T), P. multiresinivorans ATCC 700690(T) and P. nitroreducens DSM 14399(T) were 32.9, 30.2, 20.6, 23.4, 23.4 and 20.0 %, respectively. Low levels of DNA-DNA hybridization and phenotypic and chemotaxonomic results are sufficient to delineate strain Esp-1(T) from other closely related species of Pseudomonas. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data confirm that strain Esp-1(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Pseudomonas panipatensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Pseudomonas panipatensis sp. nov. is Esp-1(T) (=MTCC 8990(T)=CCM 7469(T)).