Proposal of Four New Species for Exopolysaccharide Production.

In this study, 99 strains of species were isolated from various samples collected from different locations in China, among which 14 isolates showed different morphological characteristics to other strains identified as known species. Based on morphological characteristics, those 14 strains were classified into four groups, represented by stains of KCL139, MDSC-10, XZY411-4, and MQL9-100, respectively. Molecular analysis of the internal transcriptional spacer (ITS) and part of the large ribosome subunit (D1/D2 domains) indicated that those four groups represent four new species in the . Therefore, the names sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., and sp. nov. are proposed for KCL139, MDSC-10, XZY411-4, and MQL9-100, respectively. We also found that there were differences in the yield of exopolysaccharides (EPS) among and within species, indicating strain-related exopolysaccharide-producing diversity.