Methylobacterium bullatum sp. nov., a methylotrophic bacterium isolated from Funaria hygrometrica.

A novel, pink-pigmented aerobic, facultatively methylotrophic bacterial strain (F3.2(T)) isolated from the phyllosphere of Funaria hygrometrica, was analyzed using a polyphasic approach. Cells were Gram-negative, motile rods, strictly aerobic and non-spore-forming and exhibited surface structures varying in quantity, distribution and morphology. The isolate grew at 10-33°C over a pH range of 5.5-8.0 and in the presence of less than 1.0% NaCl. Strain F3.2(T) shared less than 70% DNA-DNA binding to the next type strain of the genus Methylobacterium (M. adhaesivum DSM 17169(T)). In addition to the major cellular fatty acid C(18:1)ω7c (81.7%), present in all Methylobacterium species (and also members of the genus Alphaproteobacteria), a high value (11.7%) of the fatty acids (summed feature) C(16:1)ω7c and/or iso-C(15:0)2OH was determined. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rDNA and methanol dehydrogenase gene sequences, DNA-DNA hybridization values, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics indicate that the strain F3.2(T) represents a novel species within the genus Methylobacterium. We propose the name Methylobacterium bullatum sp. nov. for this species. The type strain is the strain F3.2(T) (DSM 21893(T)=LMG 24788(T)).