Hymenobacter pomorum sp. nov., Isolated from Apple Orchard Soil

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated 9-2-1-1 ^T , was isolated from apple orchard soil in Daegu, Republic of Korea. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the isolate belongs to the family Cytophagaceae, Bacteroidetes and it is most closely related to Hymenobacter metalli A2-91 ^T (97.8% similarity) and Hymenobacter marinus KJ035 ^T (96.6%). Growth of strain 9-2-1-1 ^T was observed at 4–30 °C, pH 6–8, and in the presence of 0–1.0% NaCl. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 62.0 mol%. The predominant respiratory quinone of the isolate was MK-7; the major fatty acids were C _15:0 iso (29.3%), C _16:1 ω5c (15.4%), C _15:0 anteiso (12.5%), summed feature 3 (C _16:1 ω7c/C _16:1 ω6c; 12.3%), and C _16:0 (10.6%); and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data supported the affiliation of strain 9-2-1-1 ^T with the genus Hymenobacter. However, the DNA–DNA relatedness between the isolate and H. metalli and H. marinus were 31.3% and 24.7%, respectively. The DNA–DNA hybridization result and the differentiating phenotypic properties clearly indicate that strain 9-2-1-1 ^T is the representative of a novel species in the genus Hymenobacter, for which the name Hymenobacter pomorum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 9-2-1-1 ^T (=KCTC 52740 ^T = JCM 32193 ^T ).