Cohnella nanjingensis sp. nov., an extracellular polysaccharide-producing bacterium isolated from soil

A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium, strain D45(T), was isolated from soil in Nanjing, China. The organism grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7.0 and with 0 % NaCl (w/v). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolate showed similarities lower than 97 % with respect to species of the genus Cohnella. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7, with MK-6 present as a minor component; anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0 were the major fatty acids. The polar lipids of strain D45(T) were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two aminophospholipids, four phospholipids, two glycolipids, one aminolipid and two lipids. The DNA G+C content was 59.5 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization of the isolate with two reference strains showed relatedness values of 33.4 % with Cohnella ginsengisoli DSM 18997(T) and 25.8 % with Cohnella thermotolerans DSM 17683(T). The phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data supported the classification of strain D45(T) as a representative of a novel species of the genus Cohnella, for which the name Cohnella nanjingensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is D45(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2014067(T) = DSM 28246(T)).