Leucobacter salsicius sp. nov., from a salt-fermented food

Strain M1-8(T) was isolated from jeotgal, a Korean salt-fermented food. Cells were aerobic, non-motile, Gram-reaction-positive and rod-shaped. Colonies were cream-coloured and circular with entire margins. Strain M1-8(T) exhibited optimal growth at 25-30 °C and pH 7.0-8.0 and in 0-4  % (w/v) NaCl. The strain tolerated up to 10.0 mM Cr(VI). Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain M1-8(T) represents a novel species in the genus Leucobacter. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of M1-8(T) exhibited 98.1  % similarity to that of Leucobacter chromiireducens subsp. chromiireducens L-1(T). The new isolate was clustered with Leucobacter species on a 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic tree. The chromosomal DNA G+C content of strain M1-8(T) was 62.8 %. Its cell-wall peptidoglycan contained 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, glutamic acid, alanine, glycine and γ-aminobutyric acid. The major menaquinone was MK-11 and the predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C₁₅:₀ (63.6 %), anteiso-C₁₇:₀ (16.7 %) and iso-C₁₆:₀ (14.2  %). The polar lipid profile of strain M1-8(T) contained diphosphatidylglycerol and one unknown glycolipid. Significant genotypic and phenotypic differences were found between strain M1-8(T) and other Leucobacter species. These differentiating characteristics indicate that strain M1-8(T) represents a novel species of the genus Leucobacter, for which the name Leucobacter salsicius sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is M1-8(T) (=KACC 21127(T) =JCM 16362(T)).