Microlunatus panaciterrae sp. nov., a beta-glucosidase-producing bacterium isolated from soil in a ginseng field.

A novel bacterial strain, designated Gsoil 954(T), showing beta-glucosidase activity was isolated from a soil sample from a ginseng field in Pocheon Province, South Korea. The isolate was a Gram-positive, aerobic, motile, coccus-shaped, non-endospore-forming bacterium. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain Gsoil 954(T) belonged to the family Propionibacteriaceae, the highest levels of sequence similarity being found with the type strains of Microlunatus ginsengisoli (96.4 %) and Microlunatus phosphovorus (96.2 %). The strain showed <95.9 % similarity with respect to other species within the family Propionibacteriaceae. In addition, the presence of ll-2,6-diaminopimelic acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan, MK-9(H(4)) as the major menaquinone and anteiso-C(15 : 0) and iso-C(15 : 0) as the major cellular fatty acids suggested its affiliation with the genus Microlunatus. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 65.1 mol%. On the basis of its phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic distinctiveness, strain Gsoil 954(T) represents a novel species within the genus Microlunatus, for which the name Microlunatus panaciterrae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Gsoil 954(T) (=KCTC 13058(T)=DSM 18662(T)).