Azohydromonas aeria sp. nov., isolated from air.

A grey pink colored bacterium, strain t3-1-3, was isolated from the air at the foot of the Xiangshan Mountain in Beijing, China. The cells are aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming, motile and coccoid-rod shaped (0.9-1.

Ancrocorticia populi gen. nov., sp. nov, isolated from the symptomatic bark of Populus × euramericana canker.

A Gram-staining positive facultative anaerobic, non-motile strain, sk1b4 , was isolated from canker of symptomatic bark tissue of a Populus × euramericana. 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that strain sk1b4 shared the highest similarity with Arcanobacterium phocisimile (94.1%).

Sphingomonas aeria sp. nov., isolated from air.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile, yellow-pigmented and rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated B093034, was isolated from air at the foot of Xiangshan mountain, located in Beijing, China. Cells of strain B093034 were oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. Growth was observed at 4-41 °C, at pH 4.

Brenneria populi subsp. brevivirga subsp. nov. isolated from symptomatic bark of Populus × euramericana canker, and description of Brenneria populi subsp. populi subsp. nov.

Two Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, motile bacterial strains isolated from symptomatic bark of Populus × euramericana canker in China were investigated using a polyphasic approach, including 16S rRNA gene sequencing, multilocus sequence analysis, and biochemical and physiological assays. 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that these strains belonged to the genus Brenneria, family Pectobacteriaceae, and had the highest sequence similarity with Brenneria populi CFCC 11963T (98 %). DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed DNA-DNA relatedness values of 72.

Paracoccus aerius sp. nov., isolated from air.

Strain 011410T, isolated from air at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, Beijing, China, was Gram-reaction-negative, facultatively anaerobic, oval-shaped, motile with two flagella and catalase- and oxidase-positive. Growth of strain 011410T was observed at 4-41 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 4.5-10.

Description of Altererythrobacter aerius sp. nov., isolated from air, and emended description of the genus Altererythrobacter.

A Gram-stain-negative, yellow-pigmented, ovoid to rod-shaped, strictly aerobic bacterial strain, designated 100921-2T, was isolated from air at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain. Phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis of the organism revealed that the isolate belongs to the genus Altererythrobacter. Strain 100921-2T showed high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (96.

Populibacterium corticicola gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Jonesiaceae, isolated from symptomatic bark of Populus × euramericana canker.

Four Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, motile bacterial strains were isolated from the bark tissue of Populus × euramericana canker. Growth occurred between 10 and 37 °C and at pH 6-10, with optimal growth at 28-30 °C and pH 7.0-8.

Sphingobacterium populi sp. nov., isolated from bark of Populus × euramericana.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile bacterial strain, 7Y-4T, was isolated from bark tissue of Populus × euramericana. The isolate was able to grow between 10 and 37 °C, with optimal growth occurring at 28-30 °C. Strain 7Y-4T was positive for oxidase and catalase activities, but did not reduce nitrite from nitrate.

Multilocus sequence analysis of the genus Kurthia, and a description of Kurthia populi sp. nov.

Four novel bacterial strains belonging to the genus Kurthia were isolated from the surface of a weevil of the family Curculionidae (strain 10y-14T), and from bark samples of hybrid poplar, Populus × euramericana (strains 6-3, 2-5 and 06C10-3-14), in Puyang, Henan Province, China. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) data showed that the four strains form a distinct cluster in the genus Kurthia, indicating that they all belong to a single taxon within the genus. DNA-DNA hybridization levels between strain 10y-4T and Kurthia huakuii LAM0618T and Kurthia massiliensis DSM 24639T were 58.

Corticibacter populi gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the family Comamonadaceae, from the bark of Populus euramericana.

Three novel endophytic strains, designated 17B10-2-12T, 26C10-4-4 and D13-10-4-9, were isolated from the bark of Populus euramericana in Heze, Shandong Province, China. They were Gram-reaction-negative, aerobic, non-motile, short-rod-shaped, oxidase-positive and catalase-negative. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the three novel strains clustered with members of the family Comamonadaceae and formed a distinct branch.

Lampropedia puyangensis sp. nov., isolated from symptomatic bark of Populus × euramericana canker and emended description of Lampropedia hyalina (Ehrenberg 1832) Lee et al. 2004.

A Gram-stain negative, Neisser-stain negative, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming, slimy, glossy bacterial strain with single or clustered coccoid cells and white colony colour, designated as 2-bin(T), was isolated from cankered bark tissue of Populus × euramericana. The strain was found to grow at 15-40 °C and pH 5-10, with an optimum of 30 °C and pH 8.0.

Microbacterium populi sp. nov., isolated from Populus×euramericana bark.

Five non-spore-forming, aerobic and Gram-stain-positive bacterial strains, 10-107-8(T), 1C-4, NHI3_6, 4107_1_2, and 3D-3, were isolated from Populus × euramericana bark collected in Puyang City, Henan Province, PR China. The isolates grew at 15-40 °C and pH 5-10. The optimum temperature and pH for growth were 30 °C and pH 8.

Acinetobacter qingfengensis sp. nov., isolated from canker bark of Populus x euramericana.

Two Gram-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterial strains, 2BJ1(T) and 2C-3-1, were isolated from canker bark of Populus × euramericana collected from different locations in Puyang City, Henan Province, China. The two strains were characterized using nutritional and physiological testing and DNA sequence analysis. They were found to produce acid from d-glucose.

Multilocus sequences confirm the close genetic relationship of four phytoplasmas of peanut witches'-broom group 16SrII-A.

Four witches'-broom diseases associated with Arachis hypogaea (peanut), Crotalaria pallida, Tephrosia purpurea, and Cleome viscosa were observed in Hainan Province, China during field surveys in 2004, 2005, and 2007. In previously reported studies, we identified these four phytoplasmas as members of subgroup 16SrII-A, and discovered that their 16S rRNA gene sequences were 99.9-100% identical to one another.

Acinetobacter puyangensis sp. nov., isolated from the healthy and diseased part of Populus xeuramericana canker bark.

Two Gram-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped strains, BQ4-1(T) and NHI3-2, isolated respectively from the healthy and diseased part of Populus ×euramericana canker bark, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. Chemotaxonomic characterization supported the inclusion of the two strains in the genus Acinetobacter, with genomic DNA G+C contents (42.5-43 mol%) within the range observed for this genus (38-47 mol%) and 9-octadecenoic acid (C18 : 1ω9c, 39.