Leifsonia soli sp. nov., a yellow-pigmented actinobacterium isolated from teak rhizosphere soil.

Two yellow-pigmented, Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, motile, short rod-shaped bacteria were isolated from natural teak tree rhizosphere soil and their taxonomic positions were determined by using a polyphasic approach. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strains TG-S248(T) and TG-S240 formed a distinct phyletic line within the genus Leifsonia. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of strain TG-S248(T) with sequences from Leifsonia shinshuensis DB 102(T), L. poae VKM Ac-1401(T), L. naganoensis DB 103(T), L. aquatica DSM 20146(T) and L. xyli subsp. cynodontis JCM 9733(T) revealed pairwise similarities ranging from 98.7 to 99.1 %. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 0). The G+C content of the DNA of the type strain was 69.4 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed low levels of DNA-DNA relatedness (32 % or less) between strain TG-S248(T) and its closest relatives. Based on differences in phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain TG-S248(T) (=LMG 24767(T) =JCM 15679(T)) is designated the type strain of a novel species of the genus Leifsonia, for which the name Leifsonia soli sp. nov. is proposed.