Chimaereicella boritolerans sp. nov., a boron-tolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from soil

Abstract

A non-motile, Gram-negative, boron-tolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium was isolated from soil of the Hisarcik area in the Kutahya Province of Turkey that was naturally high in boron minerals. The novel isolate, designated T-22T, formed rod-shaped cells, was catalase- and oxidase-positive and tolerated up to 300 mM boron. The strain also survived on agar medium containing up to 3% (w/v) NaCI. The pH range for growth of this strain was 6.5-10.0 (optimum pH 8.0-9.0) and the temperature range was 16-37 °C (optimum 2B-30 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a clear affiliation with the genus Chimaereicella, with 97.4% sequence similarity to Chimaereicella alkaliphila AC-74T, which was the highest similarity among cultivated bacteria. The DNA-DNA relatedness with C. alkaliphila AC-74T was 28.3%. The major respiratory quinone system was MK-7 and the predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15:01, iso-C17:1ω9c, iso-C17:0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (iso-Cl5:0 2-OH and/or iso-C16:1ω7c). The DNA G + C content was 42.5 mol%. Based on the phylogenetic analysis and physiological, chemotaxonomic and genetic data, we concluded that strain T-22T should be classified in the genus Chimaereicella, and we propose the name Chimaereicella boritolerans sp. nov. for this novel species. The type strain is strain T-22T (=DSM 17298T = NBRC 101277T =ATCC BAA-1189T). © 2007 IUMS.