Pseudomonas brassicacearum subsp. neoaurantiaca subsp. nov., orange-pigmented bacteria isolated from soil and the rhizosphere of agricultural plants.

A large group of 38 strains of saprophytic bacteria was isolated from soil and the rhizosphere of agricultural plants. The novel organisms were Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that produced a green fluorescent pigment, a red-orange diffusible pigment and a complex mixture of phloroglucinol derivates with antimicrobial activity. The latter have not been found in other bacteria, but are peculiar to ferns. The bacteria were vigorous denitrifiers that synthesized levan from sucrose and liquefied gelatin, but were found not to degrade aesculin, starch, agar, Tween 80 or DNA. Bacterial growth was found to occur at 4 degrees C but not at 40 degrees C. The predominant cellular fatty acids were 16 : 0, 16 : 1(n-7), 18 : 1(n-7) and 17 : 0 cyclo. The G+C content of the novel bacteria was 61.0-62.9 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the representative strain CIP 109457(T) had a clear affiliation with Pseudomonas sensu stricto groups, with the nearest relatives being Pseudomonas brassicacearum, P. thivervalensis, P. corrugata, P. mediterranea and P. kilonensis. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments showed that the group of isolated strains exhibited high levels of genetic relatedness (81-100 %), confirming that they are representatives of the same species. At the same time, they bound at low levels (4-46 %) with DNA of the type strains of their nearest relatives with the exception of P. brassicacearum; DNA binding of 90 % with the DNA of P. brassicacearum CIP 107059(T) suggested that the bacteria studied belong to this species. Analysis of taxonomic data indicated that the group of novel bacteria maintain a distinct phenotypic profile, allowing the description of novel subspecies within P. brassicacearum, for which the following names are proposed: Pseudomonas brassicacearum subsp. brassicacearum subsp. nov. (type strain DBK11(T) =CFBP 11706(T) =CIP 107059(T) =DSM 13227(T) =JCM 11938(T)) and Pseudomonas brassicacearum subsp. neoaurantiaca subsp. nov., with the type strain CIP 109457(T) (=ATCC 49054(T) =IMV 387(T) =VKM B-1524(T)).