Pediococcus cellicola sp. nov., a novel lactic acid coccus isolated from a distilled-spirit-fermenting cellar

Two novel Pediococcus strains, Z-1 and Z-8(T), were isolated from a distilled-spirit-fermenting cellar in Hebei Province, China. The cells were Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile cocci, occurring in pairs or tetrads. The strains were facultatively anaerobic and produced 50 % (-)-D-/50% (+)-L-lactic acid exclusively from glucose fermentation, but did not produce catalase. Both strains fermented rhamnose, ribose, xylose, lactose, maltose, trehalose and sucrose, and tolerated 10% ethanol. The mean G+C content of the two strains was 38+/-1 mol% (37 mol% for the type strain, Z-8(T)). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Z-8(T) clustered within the Pediococcus damnosus-Pediococcus inopinatus-Pediococcus parvulus group, with 98.3-98.5% 16S rRNA gene similarity. DNA-DNA relatedness between strain Z-8(T) and P. damnosus LMG 11484(T), P. inopinatus LMG 11409(T) and P. parvulus LMG 11486(T) was 19+/-4, 35+/-5 and 31+/-5%, respectively. Therefore, based on the distinctive phenotypic characteristics, and genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, a novel Pediococcus species, Pediococcus cellicola sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is Z-8(T) (=AS 1.3787(T)=LMG 22956(T)).