Asaia krungthepensis sp. nov., an acetic acid bacterium in the alpha-Proteobacteria

Three bacterial strains were isolated from flowers collected in Bangkok, Thailand, by an enrichment-culture approach for acetic acid bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolates were located in the lineage of the genus Asaia but constituted a cluster separate from the type strains of Asaia bogorensis and Asaia siamensis. The DNA base composition of the isolates was 60.2-60.5 mol% G+C, with a range of 0.3 mol%. The isolates constituted a taxon separate from Asaia bogorensis and Asaia siamensis on the basis of DNA-DNA relatedness. The isolates had morphological, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic characteristics similar to those of the type strains of Asaia bogorensis and Asaia siamensis, but the isolates grew on maltose. The major ubiquinone was Q(10). On the basis of the results obtained, the name Asaia krungthepensis sp. nov. is proposed for the isolates. The type strain is isolate AA08(T) (=BCC 12978(T)=TISTR 1524(T)=NBRC 100057(T)=NRIC 0535(T)), which had a DNA G+C content of 60.3 mol% and was isolated from a heliconia flower ('paksaasawan' in Thai; Heliconia sp.) collected in Bangkok, Thailand.