Specific leaf area of European Larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix decidua</Emphasis> M<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ill</Emphasis>.)

Key message

The specific leaf area of European larch depends on branch height and canopy depth, indicating that both, the effect of hydraulic limitations and low water potentials in greater branch heights, and light availability affect specific leaf area.

Abstract

Specific leaf area (SLA) is defined as the ratio between projected leaf area and needle dry mass. It often serves as parameter in ecosystem modelling as well as indicator for potential growth rate. We explore the SLA of European larch (Larix decidua) and the most important factors which have an influence on it. Data were collected from eight stands in Styria, Austria. The stands varied in age, elevation and species mixture. Four stands were pure larch stands with only minor proportions of Norway spruce (Picea abies), whereas the other four were mixed stands of larch and spruce. In each stand 15 representative sample trees were felled. The crown of each sample tree was divided into three sections of equal length and in each section a random sample of needles was taken for determining projected leaf area and dry mass of 50 needles. The mean SLA of larch was established to be 117 cm² g^?1 with a standard deviation of ±27.9 cm² g^?1. SLA varies within the crown, but neither between different mixtures nor years of observation nor social position of the trees. A mixed-effects model, with the plots as random effect, revealed that SLA of larch decreased with increasing branch height (p = 0.0012) and increased with increasing canopy depth (p = 0.029). We conclude that both the hydraulic limitations due to low water potentials in greater branch heights and light availability affect specific leaf area.

     

Global remote sensing of water–chlorophyll ratio in terrestrial plant leaves

I evaluated the use of global remote sensing techniques for estimating plant leaf chlorophyll a + b (C_ab; μg cm⁻²) and water (C_w; mg cm⁻²) concentrations as well as the ratio of C_w/C_ab with the PROSAIL model under possible distributions for leaf and soil spectra, leaf area index (LAI), canopy geometric structure, and leaf size. First, I estimated LAI from the normalized difference vegetation index. I found that, at LAI values <2, C_ab, C_w, and C_w/C_ab could not be reliably estimated. At LAI values >2, C_ab and C_w could be estimated for only restricted ranges of the canopy structure; however, the ratio of C_w/C_ab could be reliably estimated for a variety of possible canopy structures with coefficients of determination (R²) ranging from 0.56 to 0.90. The remote estimation of the C_w/C_ab ratio from satellites offers information on plant condition at a global scale.     

Response of Norway spruce root system to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration

Root structure parameters, root biomass and allometric relationships between above- and belowground biomass were investigated in young Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) trees cultivated inside the glass domes with ambient (AC, 375 μmol(CO₂) mol^?1) and elevated (EC, A + 375 μmol(CO₂) mol^?1) atmospheric CO₂ concentrations ([CO₂]). After 8 years of fumigation, a mean EC tree in comparison with AC one exhibited about 37 % higher belowground biomass. The growth of primary root structure was unaffected by elevated [CO₂]; however, the biomass of secondary roots growing on the primary root structure and the biomass of secondary roots growing in the zone between the soil surface and the first primary root ramification were significantly higher in EC comparing with AC treatment about 58 and 70 %, respectively. The finest root’s (diameter up to 1 mm) biomass as well as length and surface area of both primary and secondary root structures showed the highest difference between the treatments; advancing EC to AC by 43 % on average. Therefore, Norway spruce trees cultivated under well-watered and rather nitrogen-poor soil conditions responded to the air elevated [CO₂] environment by the enhancement of the secondary root structure increment, by enlargement of root length and root absorbing area, and also by alternation of root to aboveground organ biomass proportion. Higher root to leaf and root to stem basal area ratios could be beneficial for Norway spruce trees to survive periods with limited soil water availability.     

Geodermatophilus siccatus sp. nov., isolated from arid sand of the Saharan desert in Chad

A novel Gram-positive, aerobic, actinobacterial strain, CF6/1^T, was isolated in 2007 during environmental screening of arid desert soil in the Sahara near to Ourba, Chad. The isolate was found to grow best in a temperature range of 20–37 °C and at pH 6.0–8.5 and showed no NaCl tolerance, forming black-coloured and nearly circular colonies on GYM agar. Chemotaxonomic and molecular characteristics determined for the isolate match those previously described for members of the genus Geodermatophilus. The DNA G + C content of the novel strain was determined to be 74.9 mol %. The peptidoglycan was found to contain meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. The main phospholipids were determined to be phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol and traces of phosphatidylglycerol; MK-9(H₄) was identified as the dominant menaquinone and galactose as the diagnostic sugar. The major cellular fatty acids were found to be the branched-chain saturated acids iso-C_16:0 and iso-C_15:0, as well as C_17:1ω8c. The 16S rRNA gene sequence shows 97.5–97.9 % sequence identity with the four validly named or at least effectively published members of the genus: Geodermatophilus obscurus (97.5 %), Geodermatophilus arenarius (97.7 %), Geodermatophilus ruber (97.9 %) and Geodermatophilus nigrescens (97.9 %). Based on the results from this polyphasic taxonomic analysis and DNA–DNA hybridizations with all type strains of the genus, we propose that strain CF6/1^T represents a novel species, Geodermatophilus siccatus, with the type strain CF6/1^T = DSM 45419^T = CCUG 62765^T = MTCC 11414^T.     

Description of Niveispirillum fermenti gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from a fermentor in Taiwan,transfer of Azospirillum irakense (1989) as Niveispirillum irakense comb. nov., and reclassification of Azospirillum amazonense (1983) as Nitrospirillum amazonense gen. nov

A taxonomic study was carried out on a novel aerobic bacterial strain (designated CC-LY736^T) isolated from a fermentor in Taiwan. Cells of strain CC-LY736^T were Gram-stain negative, spiral-shaped and motile by means of a monopolar flagellum. Strain CC-LY736^T shared the greatest degree of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Azospirillum irakense DSM 11586^T (97.2 %), Rhodocista centenaria JCM 21060^T (96.3 %) and Rhodocista pekingensis JCM 11669^T (96.1 %). The major fatty acids were C_16:0, C_16:1 ω5c, C_19:0 cyclo ω8c, C_18:1 ω7c/C_18:1 ω6c, C_16:0 3-OH and C_18:1 2-OH. The predominant polar lipids included phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine and two unidentified glycolipids. The common major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-10 and predominant polyamines were sym-homospermidine and putrescine. The DNA G+C content of strain CC-LY736^T was 67.6 ± 0.1 mol %. During phylogenetic analysis, strain CC-LY736^T formed a unique phyletic lineage associated with Rhodocista species. However, the combination of genetic, chemotaxonomic and physiological data clearly indicated that strain CC-LY736^T was a novel representative of the family Rhodospirillaceae. Based on the polyphasic comparison, the name Niveispirillum fermenti gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain of the type species is CC-LY736^T (= BCRC 80504^T = LMG 27263^T). In addition, the reclassifications of Azospirillum irakense as Niveispirillum irakense comb. nov. (type strain KBC1^T = ATCC 51182^T = BCRC 15764^T = CIP 103311^T), and Azospirillum amazonense as Nitrospirillum amazonense gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain Am14^T = ATCC 35119^T = BCRC 14279^T = DSM 3787^T) are proposed based on the polyphasic taxonomic data obtained in this study.     

Halomonas zhaodongensis sp. nov., a slightly halophilic bacterium isolated from saline–alkaline soils in Zhaodong, China

A slightly halophilic bacterium (strain NEAU-ST10-25^T) was isolated from saline–alkaline soils in Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province, China. The strain is a Gram-negative, aerobic motile rod. It accumulates poly-β-hydroxyalkanoate and produces exopolysaccharide. It produces beige-yellow colonies. Growth occurs at NaCl concentrations (w/v) of 0–15 % (optimum 3 %), at temperatures of 4–60 °C (optimum 35 °C) and at pH 6–12 (optimum pH 9). Its G+C content is 53.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses based on the separate 16S rRNA gene and concatenation of the 16S rRNA, gyrB and rpoD genes indicate that it belongs to the genus Halomonas in the class Gammaproteobacteria. The most phylogenetically related species is Halomonas alkaliphila DSM 16354^T, with which strain NEAU-ST10-25^T showed 16S rRNA, gyrB and rpoD gene sequence similarities of 99.2, 82.3 and 88.2 %, respectively. The results of DNA–DNA hybridization assays showed 60.47 ± 0.69 % DNA relatedness between strain NEAU-ST10-25^T and H. alkaliphila DSM 16354^T, 42.43 ± 0.37 % between strain NEAU-ST10-25^T and Halomonas venusta DSM 4743^T and 30.62 ± 0.43 % between strain NEAU-ST10-25^T and Halomonas hydrothermalis DSM 15725^T. The major fatty acids are C_18:1 ω7c (62.3 %), C_16:0 (17.6 %), C_16:1 ω7c/C_16:1 ω6c (7.7 %), C_14:0 (2.9 %), C_12:0 3-OH (2.8 %), C_10:0 (2.1 %) and C_18:1 ω9c (1.6 %) and the predominant respiratory quinone is ubiquinone 9 (Q-9). The proposed name is Halomonas zhaodongensis, NEAU-ST10-25^T (=CGMCC 1.12286^T = DSM 25869^T) being the type strain.     

Impact of global warming on the tree species composition of boreal forests in Finland and effects on emissions of isoprenoids

This study aims to identify how climate change may influence total emissions of monoterpene and isoprene from boreal forest canopies. The whole of Finland is assumed to experience an annual mean temperature (T) increase of 4 °C and a precipitation increase of 10% by the year 2100. This will increase forest resources throughout the country. At the same time, the proportions of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) in southern Finland (60°≤ latitude < 65°N) will be reduced from the current 40–50% to less than 10–20%, with increased dominance of birches (Betula pendula and Betula pubescens). In northern Finland (65°≤ latitude < 70°N), the proportions of Norway spruce and Scots pine will be balanced at a level of about 40% as the result of an increase in Norway spruce from the current 21% to 37% and a concurrent reduction in Scots pine from 63% to 40%. The proportion of birches is predicted to increase from the current 17% to 23%, but these will become the dominant species only on the most fertile sites. Total mean emissions of monoterpene by Scots pine will be reduced by 80% in southern Finland, but will increase by 62% in the north. Emissions from Norway spruce canopies will increase by 4% in the south but by 428% in the north, while those from birch canopies will increase by about 300% and 113%, respectively. Overall emissions of monoterpene over the whole country amount to about 950 kg km^?2 y^?1 under current temperature conditions and will increase by 17% to 1100 kg km^?2 y^?1 with elevated temperature and precipitation, mainly because of an increase at northern latitudes. Under current conditions, emissions of isoprene follow the spatial distribution of spruce canopies (the only isoprene‐emitting tree species that forms forests in Finland) with four times higher emissions in the south than in the north. The elevated temperature and the changes in the areal distribution of Norway spruce will result in increases in isoprene emissions of about 37% in southern Finland and 435% in northern Finland. Annual mean isoprene emissions from Norway spruce canopies over the whole country will increase by about 60% up to the year 2100.     

Sphingomonas ginsenosidivorax sp. nov., with the ability to transform ginsenosides

A Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming and rod-shaped bacterial strain designated KHI67^T was isolated from sediment of the Gapcheon River in South Korea and its taxonomic position was investigated by using a polyphasic approach. Strain KHI67^T was observed to grow optimally at 25–30 °C and at pH 7.0 on nutrient and R2A agar. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain KHI67^T was shown to belong to the family Sphingomonadaceae and was related to Sphingomonas faeni MA-olki^T (97.6 % sequence similarity), Sphingomonas aerolata NW12^T (97.5 %) and Sphingomonas aurantiaca MA101b^T (97.3 %). The G + C content of the genomic DNA was determined to be 65.6 %. The major ubiquinone was found to be Q-10, the major polyamine was identified as homospermidine and the major fatty acids identified were summed feature 8 (comprising C_18:1 ω7c/ω6c; 37.0 %), C_16:0 (13.0 %), summed feature 3 (comprising C_16:1 ω7c/C_16:1 ω6c; 12.8 %) and C_14:0 2OH (9.3 %). DNA and chemotaxonomic data supported the affiliation of strain KHI67^T to the genus Sphingomonas. The DNA–DNA relatedness values between strain KHI67^T and its closest phylogenetic neighbours were below 15 %. Strain KHI67^T could be differentiated genotypically and phenotypically from the recognised species of the genus Sphingomonas. The isolate therefore represents a novel species, for which the name Sphingomonas ginsenosidivorax sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain KHI67^T (=KACC 14951^T = JCM 17076^T = LMG 25801^T).     

Sphingomonas gimensis sp. nov., a novel Gram-negative bacterium isolated from abandoned lead–zinc ore mine

A novel bacterial strain designated 9PNM-6^T was isolated from an abandoned lead–zinc ore mine site in Meizhou, Guangdong Province, China. The isolate was found to be Gram-negative, rod-shaped, orange-pigmented, strictly aerobic, oxidase- and catalase-positive. Growth occurred at 0–4 % NaCl (w/v, optimum, 0 %), at pH 6.0–8.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and at 15–32 °C (optimum, 28–30 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities showed that strain 9PNM-6^T belongs to the genus Sphingomonas, with the highest sequence similarities with Sphingomonas jejuensis NBRC 107775^T (99.7 %), Sphingomonas koreensis KCTC 2882^T (95.1 %) and Sphingomonas dokdonesis KCTC 12541^T (95.1 %). The chemotaxonomic characteristics of strain 9PNM-6^T were consistent with those of the genus Sphingomonas. The predominant respiratory quinone was identified as ubiquinone Q-10, the major polyamine as sym-homospermidine, and the major cellular fatty acids as C_18:1 ω7c, C_16:0, C_16:1 ω7c and/or C_16:1 ω6c and C_14:0 2-OH. The major polar lipids are sphingoglycolipid, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatideylcholine, an unidentified phospholipid and four unidentified aminolipids. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain 9PNM-6^T was determined to be 69.2 ± 0.6 mol%. Based on comparative analyses of morphological, physiological and chemotaxonomic data, and levels of DNA–DNA relatedness values, strain 9PNM-6^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Sphingomonas, for which the name Sphingomonas gimensis sp. nov. (Type strain 9PNM-6^T = GIMCC 1.655^T = CGMCC 1.12671^T = DSM 27569^T) is proposed.     

Stem and whole-plant hydraulics in olive (Olea europaea) and kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)

A field study and an experiment under controlled conditions using pressure-flux relationships were conducted to compare the stem and whole-plant conductance in olive (Olea europaea) and kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) species. Anatomical observations were also made on one-year-old stem to determine the conductive area of vessels (A _ves) and the total xylem area (A _xyl). Results show that A _ves of kiwifruit twigs was ~2.5-fold of that in olive twigs, and the hydraulically weighted mean diameter was up to threefold that of the olive ones. One-year-old olive twigs had lower hydraulic conductivity (k) than the kiwifruit, while values of leaf-specific conductivity (i.e. k normalised per unit leaf area) were higher than the kiwifruit (i.e. ~49 and 29 × 10^?6 kg m^?1 s^?1 MPa^?1, respectively). In the field experiment, the flux of sap (heat balance method) and differences in water potential through the soil–plant system (ΔP) were used for both species to calculate the whole-plant conductance that was normalised per unit leaf area (leaf-specific whole-plant conductance, K _plant,LA). Values of K _plant,LA are attributable to the combined effect of the ΔP and anatomical features of conduits. Olive species showed a larger ΔP (2.4 MPa at midday) than the kiwifruit (0.5 MPa) which contributed to lower K _plant,LA in Olea than the Actinidia plants. This information, combined with vessel density data, contributes to explain differences amidst olive and kiwifruit species, in terms of susceptibility to some drought-related hydraulic impairments induced by the Mediterranean environment.     

Erythrobacter westpacificensis sp. nov., a Marine Bacterium Isolated From the Western Pacific

A novel Gram-negative, orange-pigmented bacterial strain JLT2008^T was isolated from the surface seawater of the Western Pacific and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain JLT2008^T belonged to the genus Erythrobacter, sharing the highest similarity (96.6 %) with Erythrobacter gangjinensis K7-2^T and the lowest similarity (94.9 %) with Erythrobacter litoralis DSM 8509^T. Strain JLT2008^T did not contain bacteriochlorophyll a, and the predominant respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-10. The major fatty acids were C_18:1 ω7c, C_16:0, C_16:1 ω7c/C_16:1 ω6c. The prominent polar lipids were sphingoglycolipid, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylglycerol. The genomic G + C content was 60.1 mol %. Based on the polyphasic taxonomic data, a novel species within the genus Erythrobacter, and with the name Erythrobacter westpacificensis sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is JLT2008^T (=CGMCC 1.10993^T = JCM 18014^T).     

Nonhongiella spirulinensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from a cultivation pond of Spirulina platensis in Sanya, China

A Gram-negative, aerobic, motile rod strain, designated Ma-20^T, was isolated from a pool of marine Spirulina platensis cultivation, Sanya, China, and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomy study. Strain Ma-20^T can grow in the presence of 0.5–11 % (w/v) NaCl, 10–43 °C and pH 6–10, and grew optimally at 30 °C, pH 7.5–9.0 in natural seawater medium. The polar lipids were composed of phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified phospholipids and three unidentified polar lipids. The respiratory quinone was ubiquinone 8 (Q-8) and the major fatty acids were C_18:1ω6c/C_18:1ω7c (summed feature 8, 32.84 %), C_16:1ω6c/C_16:1ω7c (summed feature 3, 30.76 %), C_16:0 (13.54 %), C_12:03-OH (4.63 %), and C_12:0 (4.09 %). The DNA G+C content of strain Ma-20^T was 58 mol %. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Ma-20^T belonging to Gammaproteobacteria, it shared 88.46–91.55 and 89.21–91.26 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the type strains in genus Hahella and Marinobacter, respectively. In addition to the large 16S rRNA gene sequence difference, Ma-20^T can also be distinguished from the reference type strains Hahella ganghwensis FR1050^T and Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus sp. 17^T by several phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic properties. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties, strain Ma-20^T is suggested to represent a novel species of a new genus in Gammaproteobacteria, for which the name Nonhongiella spirulinensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Ma-20^T (=KCTC 32221^T=LMG 27470^T).     

Needle parameter variation of mature black spruce displaying genetic × soil moisture interaction in growth

To examine soil moisture stress, light, and genetic effects on individual needle parameters and investigate total needle contribution to productivity, individual and total needle parameter variation were quantified in 32-year-old black spruce from five crown positions from four full-sib families studied previously for drought tolerance and differential productivity on a dry and a wet site. The wet site had greater average needle length (NL), specific needle area (SNA), and needle N concentration (NN) than the dry site. Site differences in NN were most likely driven by soil moisture stress impairing N uptake as soil N was equal at both sites. Drought-tolerant families had greater average needle area (NA), but also greater needle dry mass (NDM), than drought-intolerant families. From the top to bottom crown position, needle parameters showing a linear or near linear increase were NL, SNA, and NN; needle parameters showing a linear decrease were NW, NA, NDM and C:N ratio. For total tree needle area, the wet and dry sites had 18.7 and 16.0 m² tree^?1 (leaf area index (LAI) 5.6 and 4.8), respectively, whereas total needle C mass was not significantly different between sites. Drought-tolerant and intolerant families had a total NA of 18.8 and16.0 m² tree^?1, respectively. However, the greater total NA of drought-tolerant families was driven by one family. Thus, the role of total foliage area at these high LAI values in genetic differences in productivity is inconsistent and most likely low. Therefore, based on a previous 3-year campaign of gas exchange measurements and confirmed independently with carbon isotope analyses, the rate of net photosynthesis is a more important component of site and genetic growth differential in mature black spruce than total needle area.     

Maricoccus atlantica gen. nov. sp. nov., isolated from deep sea sediment of the Atlantic Ocean

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain 22II-S10r2^T, which was isolated from the deep sea sediment of the Atlantic Ocean using oil-degrading enrichment. The bacterium was Gram-negative, oxidase positive and catalase negative, spherical in shape, and motile by polar flagella. Growth was observed at salinities of 0.5–7 % and at temperatures of 10–41 °C. The isolate was capable of aesculin hydrolysis, but unable to reduce nitrate to nitrite or degrade Tween 80 or gelatine. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain 22II-S10r2^T belonged to the family Ectothiorhodospiraceae, with highest sequence similarity to Thioalkalivibrio sulfidiphilus HL-EbGR7^T (90.9 % similarity). The principal fatty acids were Sum In Feature 8 (C_18:1 ω7c/ω6c (29.9 %), C_18:1 ω9c (13.5 %), C_16:1 ω5c (12.3 %), C_12:03OH (6.8 %), C_18:1 ω5c (5.7 %) and C_16:0 (5.3 %). The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA was 60.7 mol%. The respiratory quinone was determined to be Q-7 (25 %) and Q-8 (75 %). Phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, aminophospholipid, glycolipid, three phospholipids and lipid were present. The strain was aerobic, non-phototrophic and non-chemolithoautotrophic. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data show that strain 22II-S10r2^T represents a novel species within a novel genus, for which the name Maricoccus atlantica gen. nov. sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain 22II-S10r2^T (=CGMCC NO.1.12317^T = LMG 27155^T = MCCC 1A09384^T).     

Marinomonas profundimaris sp. nov., isolated from deep-sea sediment sample of the Arctic Ocean

A taxonomic study was carried out on strain D104^T, which was isolated from deep-sea subsurface sediment sample from the Arctic Ocean. The bacterium was found to be Gram-negative, oxidase negative and catalase weakly positive, rod shaped, motile by means of polar flagellum. The organism grows between 4 and 37 °C (optimum 25–28 °C) and 0.5–6 % NaCl (optimum 3 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain D104^T belongs to the genus Marinomonas, with highest sequence similarities of 97.7 % to Marinomonas ushuaiensis DSM 15871^T, followed by M. dokdonensis DSW10-10^T (96.9 %), M. arenicola KMM 3893^T (96.7 %), M. arctica 328^T (96.6 %) and other 18 species of the genus Marinomonas (94.4–96.5 %). The average nucleotide identity and estimated DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain D104^T and M. ushuaiensis DSM 15871^T were 84.24 % and 20.80 ± 2.33 % respectively. The principal fatty acids were C_16:0, sum in feature 3 (C_16:1 ω7c/C_16:1 ω6c), sum in feature 8 (C_18:1 ω7c/C_18:1 ω6c) and C_12:1 3OH. The G + C content of the chromosomal DNA was determined to be 44.8 mol%. The respiratory quinone was found to be Q8 (100 %). Polar lipids include phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine as major phospholipids and aminolipid and phospholipid as minor components. The results of the genotypic and phenotypic analyses indicate that strain D104^T represents a novel species of the genus Marinomonas, for which the name Marinomonas profundimaris sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain D104^T (=MCCC 1A07573^T = LMG 27696^T).     

Sphingobacterium pakistanensis sp. nov., a novel plant growth promoting rhizobacteria isolated from rhizosphere of Vigna mungo

The taxonomic status of a bacterium, strain NCCP-246^T, isolated from rhizosphere of Vigna mungo, was determined using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The strain NCCP-246^T can grow at 16–37 °C (optimum 32 °C), at pH ranges of 6–8 (optimum growth occurs at pH 7) and in 0–4 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based upon on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison revealed that strain NCCP-246^T belonged to genus Sphingobacterium. Strain NCCP-246^T showed highest similarity to the type strain of Sphingobacterium canadense CR11^T (97.67 %) and less than 97 % with other species of the genus. The DNA–DNA relatedness value of strain NCCP-246^T with S. canadense CR11^T and Sphingobacterium thalpophilum JCM 21153^T was 55 and 44.4 %, respectively. The chemotaxonomic data revealed the major menaquinone as MK-7 and dominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 [C_16:1 ω7c/C_16:1 ω6c] (37.07 %), iso-C_15:0 (28.03 %), C_16:0 (11.85 %), C_17:0 cyclo (8.84 %) and C_14:0 (2.42 %). The G+C content of the strain was 39.2 mol%. On the basis of DNA–DNA hybridization, phylogenetic analyses, physiological and, biochemical data, strain NCCP-246^T can be differentiated from the validly named members of genus Sphingobacterium and thus represents as a new species, for which the name, Sphingobacterium pakistanensis sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain NCCP-246^T (= JCM18974 ^T = KCTC 23914^T).     

Isolation and Characterization of Marine Nonylphenol-Degrading Bacteria and Description of Pseudomaricurvus alkylphenolicus gen. nov., sp. nov.

Two novel aerobic p-n-nonylphenol-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from seawater obtained from the coastal region of Ogasawara Islands, Japan. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the strains are affiliated with the order Alteromonadales within the class Gammaproteobacteria. One isolate, strain KU41G2, is most closely related to Maricurvus nonylphenolicus (99.2 % similarity), and is tentatively identified as M. nonylphenolicus. The other isolate, strain KU41G^T, is also most closely related to M. nonylphenolicus; however, the 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity was only 94.7 %. Cells of strain KU41G^T are Gram-negative rods with a single polar flagellum. The predominant respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-8, and the major cellular fatty acids were C_17:1 ω8c (24.2 %); C_15:0 iso 2-OH; and/or C_16:1 ω7c (16.3 %), C_15:0 (10.3 %), C_11:0 3-OH (9.5 %), C_9:0 3-OH (6.7 %), C_10:0 3-OH (6.4 %), and C_18:1 ω7c (5.5 %). The DNA G+C content was 53.3 mol%. On the basis of physiological, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic data, strain KU41G^T is suggested to represent a novel species of a new genus, for which we propose the name Pseudomaricurvus alkylphenolicus gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of P. alkylphenolicus is KU41G^T (=JCM 19135^T = KCTC 32386^T).     

Methylobacterium pseudosasae sp. nov., a pink-pigmented, facultatively methylotrophic bacterium isolated from the bamboo phyllosphere

A pink-pigmented, Gram negative, aerobic, facultatively methylotrophic bacterium, strain BL44^T, was isolated from bamboo leaves and identified as a member of the genus Methylobacterium. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed similarity values of 98.7–97.0 % with closely related type strains and showed highest similarity to Methylobacterium zatmanii DSM 5688^T (98.7 %) and Methylobacterium thiocyanatum DSM 11490^T (98.7 %). Methylotrophic metabolism in this strain was confirmed by PCR amplification and sequencing of the mxaF gene coding for the α-subunit of methanol dehydrogenase. Strain BL44^T produced three known quorum sensing signal molecules with similar retention time to C₈, C₁₀ and C₁₂-HSLs when characterized by GC–MS. The fatty acid profiles contained major amounts of C_18:1 ω7c, iso-3OH C_17:0 and summed feature 3 (C_16:1 ω7c and/or iso-C_15:0 2-OH), which supported the grouping of the isolate in the genus Methylobacterium. The DNA G+C content was 66.9 mol%. DNA relatedness of the strain BL44^T to its most closely related strains ranged from 12–43.3 %. On the basis of the phenotypic, phylogenetic and DNA–DNA hybridization data, strain BL44^T is assigned to a novel species of the genus Methylobacterium for which the name Methylobacterium pseudosasae sp. nov. is proposed (type strain BL44^T = NBRC 105205^T = ICMP 17622^T).     

Parvularcula oceanus sp. nov., isolated from deep-sea water of the Southeastern Pacific Ocean

A Gram-negative, aerobic, motile by single polar flagellum, short rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from a deep-seawater sample of the Southeastern Pacific Ocean. Growth was found to occur at 10–40 °C, at pH 4.0–10.0 and in the presence of 0–9.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JLT2013^T fell within a clade comprising species of the genus Parvularcula and formed a coherent cluster with Parvularcula lutaonensis CC-MMS-1^T (neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree) or Parvularcula dongshanensis SH25^T (maximum-likelihood and maximum-parsimony phylogenetic trees). Sequence similarity analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain JLT2013^T shows high sequence similarity to P. lutaonensis CC-MMS-1^T (96.7 %), P. dongshanensis SH25^T (96.0 %) and Parvularcula bermudensis HTCC2503^T (95.2 %). The major cellular fatty acids were identified as C_12:0 (34.3 %), summed feature 8 (C_18:1 ω7c and/or C_18:1 ω6c) (10.9 %), C_16:0 (10.0 %) and C_17:1 ω6c (7.2 %). The polar lipids were found to include diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, three sphingoglycolipids and three unknown glycolipids. Strain JLT2013^T was found to contain Q-10 as the predominant quinone. The DNA G+C content was determined to be 66.3 mol%. In the light of the phenotypic characteristics, chemotaxonomic features and phylogenetic evidence gathered in this study, strain JLT2013^T (=LMG 27362^T = CGMCC 1.12400^T) should be classified as a novel species in the genus Parvularcula, for which the name Parvularcula oceanus sp. nov. is proposed.