Paenibacillus tritici sp. nov., isolated from wheat roots

A bacterial strain designated RTAE36T was isolated from wheat roots in northern Spain. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the isolate into the genus Paenibacillus with its closest relative being Paenibacillus borealis DSM 13188T with 97.7 % sequence similarity. Cells of the isolate were facultatively anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive, motile and sporulating rods. Catalase and oxidase were positive. Gelatin, casein and starch were not hydrolysed. Growth was supported by many carbohydrates and organic acids as carbon sources. MK-7 was the only menaquinone detected, and anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0, iso-C14 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0 were the major fatty acids. The polar lipids profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified aminolipid, two unidentified phospholipids, three unidentified phosphoaminolipids, one unidentified glycolipid and one unidentified lipid. meso-Diaminopimelic acid was detected in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. Strains RTAE36T and P. borealis DSM 13188T had an mean DNA-DNA relatedness of 39 % and differed in several phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, confirming that strain RTAE36T should be considered as a representative of a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus tritici sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is RTAE36T (=LMG 29502T=CECT 9125T).