Chelativorans multitrophicus gen. nov., sp. nov. and Chelativorans oligotrophicus sp. nov., aerobic EDTA-degrading bacteria.

Two previously isolated strains (DSM 9103(T) and LPM-4(T)) able to grow with EDTA (facultatively and obligately, respectively) as the source of carbon, nitrogen and energy were investigated in order to clarify their taxonomic positions. The strains were strictly aerobic, Gram-negative, asporogenous and non-motile rods that required biotin for growth. Reproduction occurred by binary fission. The strains were mesophilic and neutrophilic. Their major fatty acids were summed feature 7 (consisting of C(18 : 1)omega7c, C(18 : 1)omega9t and/or C(18 : 1)omega12t) and C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c. The polyamine pattern revealed homospermidine as a major polyamine. Predominant polar lipids were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine and diphosphatidylglycerol. Mesorhizobium-specific ornithine lipid was absent. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-10. The DNA G+C values were 60.8 and 63.1 mol% (T(m)) for strains LPM-4(T) and DSM 9103(T), respectively. The level of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between these EDTA-utilizers was 99.3 % while the DNA-DNA hybridization value was only 37 %. Both strains were phylogenetically related to members of the genera Aminobacter and Mesorhizobium (95-97 % sequence similarity). However, DNA-DNA hybridization values between the novel EDTA-degrading strains and Aminobacter aminovorans DSM 7048(T) and Mesorhizobium loti DSM 2626(T) were low (10-11 %). Based on their genomic and phenotypic properties, the new alphaproteobacterial strains are assigned to a novel genus, Chelativorans gen. nov., with the names Chelativorans multitrophicus sp. nov. (type strain DSM 9103(T)=VKM B-2394(T)) and Chelativorans oligotrophicus sp. nov. (type strain LPM-4(T)=VKM B-2395(T)=DSM 19276(T)).