Acidocella aluminiidurans sp. nov., an aluminium-tolerant bacterium isolated from Panicum repens grown in a highly acidic swamp in actual acid sulfate soil area of Vietnam.

An aluminium-tolerant bacterium, strain AL46(T), was isolated from a waterweed, Panicum repens, grown in a highly acidic swamp (pH 3) at an actual acid sulfate soil area of Vietnam. Cells were Gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile rods (0.3 microm wide and 1.2-1.6 microm long). 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain AL46(T) belongs to the genus Acidocella, class Alphaproteobacteria. Strain AL46(T) was related most closely to the type strains of Acidocella facilis and Acidocella aminolytica (99.4 and 97.8 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively). Levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain AL46(T) and the above type strains were 40 %. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed the novel strain to be differentiated phenotypically from the two recognized Acidocella species. Data for predominant cellular fatty acids (cyclopropyl C(19 : 0) and C(18 : 1)), major isoprenoid quinone (Q-10) and DNA G+C content (65.6 mol%) were in accordance with those reported for the genus Acidocella. Therefore, strain AL46(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Acidocella, for which the name Acidocella aluminiidurans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is AL46(T) (=NBRC 104303(T) =VTCC-D9-1(T)).