Flavitalea populi gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from soil of a Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) forest.

A novel strain, designated HY-50R(T), isolated from soil of a Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) forest in Xinjiang, China, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of the isolate were gram-reaction-negative, strictly aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate was a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes, its closest relatives being Niastella populi THYL-44(T) (93.6 % similarity), Flavisolibacter ginsengisoli Gsoil 643(T) (93.5 %), Terrimonas ferruginea IAM 15098(T) (93.3 %) and Flavisolibacter ginsengiterrae Gsoil 492(T) (93.2 %). The major fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 1) G (11.7 %), iso-C(15 : 0) (19.6 %) and iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH (19.3 %). The predominant menaquinone of strain HY-50R(T) was MK-7 and the genomic DNA G+C content was 46.8 mol%. Flexirubin-type pigments were not produced. Based on phylogenetic evidence and the results of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic analysis, strain HY-50R(T) represents a novel species of a novel genus, for which the name Flavitalea populi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HY-50R(T) ( = CCTCC AB 208255(T)  = NRRL B-59222(T)).