Pedobacter oryzae sp. nov., isolated from rice paddy soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic bacterium, designated strain N7(T), was isolated from a rice paddy in South Korea. Cells of strain N7(T) were non-motile, non-spore-forming rods. Growth was observed at 15-35 degrees C (optimum of 25-30 degrees C) and between pH 6.0 and 8.0 (optimum of pH 6.5-7.5). The predominant isoprenoid quinone was menaquinone-7. The major cellular fatty acids of strain N7(T) were summed feature 3 (comprising C(16 : 1)omega7c and/or iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH), iso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(15 : 0), C(15 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 0). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 37.7 mol%. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that strain N7(T) formed a distinct phyletic line within the genus Pedobacter. Phylogenetic distances from strains of other Pedobacter species with validly published names were greater than 5.0 % (i.e. <95.0 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities). On the basis of phenotypic and molecular data, it is clear that strain N7(T) represents a novel species within the genus Pedobacter, for which the name Pedobacter oryzae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N7(T) (=KACC 12821(T) =DSM 19973(T)).