Whole-Genome Optical Mapping and Finished Genome Sequence of Sphingobacterium deserti sp. nov., a New Species Isolated from the Western Desert of China

A novel Gram-negative bacterium, designated ZW^T, was isolated from a soil sample of the Western Desert of China, and its phenotypic properties and phylogenetic position were investigated using a polyphasic approach. Growth occurred on TGY medium at 5–42°C with an optimum of 30°C, and at pH 7.0–11.0 with an optimum of pH 9.0. The predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C_16:1 ω7c/C_16:1 ω6c or C_16:1 ω6c/C_16:1 ω7c) (39.22%), iso-C15:0 (27.91%), iso-C_17:0 3OH (15.21%), C_16:0 (4.98%), iso-C_15:0 3OH (3.03%), C16:0 3OH (5.39%) and C_14:0 (1.74%). The major polar lipid of strain ZW^T is phosphatidylethanolamine. The only menaquinone observed was MK-7. The GC content of the DNA of strain ZWT is 44.9 mol%. rDNA phylogeny, genome relatedness and chemotaxonomic characteristics all indicate that strain ZW^T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingobacterium. We propose the name S. deserti sp. nov., with ZW^T (= KCTC 32092T = ACCC 05744T) as the type strain. Whole genome optical mapping and next-generation sequencing was used to derive a finished genome sequence for strain ZW^T, consisting of a circular chromosome of 4,615,818 bp in size. The genome of strain ZW^T features 3,391 protein-encoding and 48 tRNA-encoding genes. Comparison of the predicted proteome of ZW^T with those of other sphingobacteria identified 925 species-unique proteins that may contribute to the adaptation of ZW^T to its native, extremely arid and inhospitable environment. As the first finished genome sequence for any Sphingobacterium, our work will serve as a useful reference for subsequent sequencing and mapping efforts for additional strains and species within this genus.