Burkholderia perseverans sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the Restinga ecosystem, is a producer of volatile and diffusible compounds that inhibit plant pathogens.

Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, motile bacteria, designated CBAS 719 T, CBAS 732 and CBAS 720 were isolated from leaf litter samples, collected in Espírito Santo State, Brazil, in 2008. Sequences of the 16S rRNA, gyrB, lepA and recA genes showed that these strains grouped with Burkholderia plantarii LMG 9035 T, Burkholderia gladioli LMG 2216 T and Burkholderia glumae LMG 2196 T in a clade of phytopathogenic Burkholderia species. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization experiments and ANI analyses demonstrated that strain CBAS 719 T represents a novel species in this lineage that is very closely related with B. plantarii. The genome sequence of the type strain is 7.57 Mbp and its G + C content is 69.01 mol%. The absence of growth on TSA medium supplemented with 3% (w/v) NaCl, citrate assimilation, β-galactosidase (PNPG) activity, and of lipase C14 activity differentiated strain CBAS 719 T from B. plantarii LMG 9035 T, its nearest phylogenetic neighbor. Its predominant fatty acid components were C16:0, C18:1 ω7c, cyclo-C17:0 and summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C15:0 iso 2-OH). Based on these genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, the strains CBAS 719 T, CBAS 732 and CBAS 720 are classified in a novel Burkholderia species, for which the name Burkholderia perseverans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CBAS 719 T (= LMG 31557 T = INN12T).