Deinococcus soli sp. nov., a Gamma-Radiation-Resistant Bacterium Isolated from Rice Field Soil

A Gram-negative, non-motile, short rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated N5^T, was isolated from a rice field soil in South Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the new isolate showed that strain N5^T belongs to the genus Deinococcus, family Deinococcaceae, showing the highest sequence similarity to Deinococcus grandis KACC 11979^T (98.4 %) and Deinococcus daejeonensis KCTC 13751^T (97.5 %). Strain N5^T exhibits resistance to gamma-radiation similar to that of other members of the genus Deinococcus, with a D₁₀ value in excess of 4 kGy. Chemotaxonomic data showed that the most abundant fatty acids are C_16:1 ω7c (25.25 %), C_15:1 ω6c (19.77 %), C_17:1 ω6c (11.87 %), and C_17:0 (9.41 %), and the major polar lipid is an unknown phosphoglycolipid. The predominant respiratory quinone is menaquinone MK-8. The DNA G+C content is 71.4 mol%. Phenotypic, phylogenetic, and chemotaxonomic data support designation of strain N5^T as a novel species of the genus Deinococcus, for which the name Deinococcus soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N5^T (=KCTC 33153^T = JCM 19176^T).