Pedobacter endophyticus sp. nov., an endophytic bacterium isolated from Carex pumila

An aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, weak-motile, short-rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated JBR3-12^T, was isolated from halophyte Carex pumila plants, and its taxonomic position was investigated by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The strain produced a pink pigment on tryptic soy agar and grew optimally at 25 °C, pH 8 and in the presence of 3 % (w/v) NaCl. Results of phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JBR3-12^T formed a lineage within the genus Pedobacter and was most closely related to Pedobacter sandarakinus DS-27^T (98.0 %) and Pedobacter agri PB92^T (97.6 %). The DNA G+C content of the genome was 41.3 mol%; the whole genome length was 5 426 070 bp. The major fatty acids of JBR3-12^T were iso-C_15 : 0, summed feature 3 (comprising C_16 : 1  ω6c and/or C_16 : 1  ω7c) and iso-C_17 : 0 3-OH. The predominant polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The predominant quinone was menaquinone-7. Based on its phenotypic, phylogenetic and genotypic features, strain JBR3-12^T is proposed to represent a novel species of the genus Pedobacter, for which the name is Pedobacter endophyticus sp. nov. The type strain is JBR3-12^T (=KCTC 82363^T=NBRC 114901^T).