Eighteen rod-shaped homofermentatives, six heterofermentatives, and a coccal homofermentative lactic acid bacteria were isolated from fermented tea leaves (
miang) produced in the northern part of Thailand. The isolates were placed in a monophyletic cluster consisting of
Lactobacillus and
Pediococcus species. They were divided into seven groups by phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, DNA-DNA similarity, and 16S rRNA gene sequences. Groups I to VI belonged to
Lactobacillus and Group VII to
Pediococcus. All of the strains tested produced
DL-lactic acid but those in Group IV produced
L-lactic acid. The strains tested in Groups I, II and V had
meso-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall. Six strains in Group I were identified as
Lactobacillus pantheris; five strains in Group II as
Lactobacillus pentosus; and four strains in Group V as
Lactobacillus suebicus. Two strains in Group VI showed high DNA-DNA similarity for each other and MCH4-2 was closest to
Lactobacillus fermentum CECT 562
T with 99.5% of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Five strains in Group III are proposed as
Lactobacillus thailandensis sp. nov., and MCH5-2
T (BCC 21235
T=JCM 13996
T=NRIC 0671
T=PCU 272
T) is the type strain which has 49 mol% G+C of DNA. Two strains in Group IV are proposed as
Lactobacillus camelliae sp. nov., and the type strain is MCH3-1
T (BCC 21233
T=JCM 13995
T=NRIC 0672
T=PCU 273
T) which has 51.9 mol% G+C of DNA. One strain in Group VII is proposed as
Pediococcus siamensis sp. nov., and MCH3-2
T (BCC 21234
T=JCM 13997
T=NRIC 0675
T=PCU 274
T) is the type strain which has 42 mol% G+C of DNA.
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