Microvirga Splendida Sp. Nov., Bacteria Isolated from Soil

Two bacterial strains, BT325 and BT690, were isolated from soil samples collected in Korea. Both strains were Gram stain-negative, short rod-shaped, and formed light-pink colored colonies. The 16S rRNA sequence similarity of strains BT325 and BT690 shared a sequence similarity of 99.7%. Both strains shared the highest 16S rRNA gene similarity of 98.6% with Microvirga arabica SV2184P, followed by Microvirga ossetica V5/3 M T (98.5% and 98.2%, respectively), Microvirga soli R491 (98.3% and 98.2%, respectively), Microvirga aerilata (98.2% and 98.08%, respectively), Microvirga makkahensis (98.08% and 97.8%, respectively). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain BT325 and BT690 were positioned in a distinct lineage within the family Methylobacteriaceae (order Rhizobiales, class Alphaproteobacteria). The genome size of strain BT325 was 5,200,315 bp and the genomic DNA G + C content was 64.3 mol%. The sole respiratory quinone of strain BT325 was Q-10 and the predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C ω7c/C ω6c) and summed feature 8 (C ω7c/C ω6c). The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylcholine. Polyphasic taxonomic analysis of biochemical, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic analyses suggested that strains BT325 represents a novel bacterial species within the genus Microvirga, for which the name Microvirga splendida is proposed. The type strain of Microvirga splendida is BT325 (= KCTC 72406 = NBRC 114847).