2012 Volume 58 Issue 4 Pages 309-316
The Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore forming, and rod-shaped bacterium designated as THG-T17T was isolated from the soil of a ginseng field of Pocheon in Korea, and its taxonomic position was investigated by using a polyphasic approach. The growth of strain THG-T17T occurred at 4−40°C and pH 4.0−9.0 with 1−2% (w/v) NaCl on nutrient agar. Strain THG-T17T displayed β-glucosidase activity that was responsible for its ability to transform ginsenoside Rb1 (one of the dominant ginsenosides of ginseng) to compound F2 via gypenoside XVII. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain THG-T17T was shown to belong to the genus Pedobacter and was related to Pedobacter soli 15−51T (98.8%), Pedobacter sandarakinus DS-27T (98.0%) and Pedobacter terrae DS-57T (98.1%). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 42.4 mol%. The DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain THG-T17T and its phylogenetically closest neighbors were below 14%. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data, especially analysis of cellular fatty acid, supported the affiliation of strain THG-T17T to the genus Pedobacter. The results of genotyping and biochemical tests showed strain THG-T17T to be differentiated genotypically and phenotypically from the recognized species of the genus Pedobacter. Therefore, the novel isolate represents a novel species, for which the name Pedobacter kyungheensis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain THG-T17T (=KACC 16221T = LMG 26577T).
