Methylobacterium segetis sp. nov., a novel member of the family Methylobacteriaceae isolated from soil on Jeju Island.

A bacterial strain, 17J42-1, was isolated from a soil sample collected on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. Colonies grown on R2A agar were pink in color, and cells were Gram-stain negative, short and rod-shaped. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences identified this strain as a member of the genus Methylobacterium in the family Methylobacteriaceae, with high levels of 16S rRNA sequence similarity shared with Methylobacterium oxalidis 35a (98.6%), Methylobacterium jeotgali S2R03-9 (97.5%), and Methylobacterium soli YIM 48816 (97.3%). Cells grew at 15-35 °C, pH 5-9, and in the presence of 0-1.0% NaCl. The genomic G + C content was 70.2 mol% based on the whole genome analysis. The predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-10, the major fatty acid was Cω7c (85.3%), and the major polar lipids were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and diphosphatidylglycerol. The phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data support the affiliation of strain 17J42-1 with the genus Methylobacterium. However, the DNA-DNA relatedness between the isolate and its closest phylogenetic neighbors was lower than 38%. The OrthoANI and dDDH values between strain 17J42-1 and the closest type strain Methylobacterium oxalidis NBRC 107715 were calculated to be 85.9% and 30.6%, respectively. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity analysis, DNA-DNA hybridization analysis, and the observed differentiating phenotypic properties from other closely related taxa clearly indicate that strain 17J42-1 represents a novel species in the genus Methylobacterium, for which the name Methylobacterium segetis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 17J42-1 (= KCTC 62267 = JCM 33059).