Niastella populi sp nov., isolated from soil of Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) forest, and emended description of the genus Niastella

A novel bacterial strain, designated THYL-44(T), was isolated from the soil of a Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) forest in Xinjiang, China. The cells were strictly aerobic, Gram-staining-negative, non-flagellated, non-motile and filamentous. Growth occurred at 17-37 degrees C (optimum 30 degrees C), at pH 5.0-8.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and with 0-1% NaCl (w/v; optimum 0%). Flexirubin pigments were not produced. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain THYL-44T was closely related to Niastella koreensis KACC 11465(T) (95.5% sequence similarity). The major respiratory quinone was MK-7 and the predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C-15:0 (28.6%), iso-C-17:0 3-OH (23.9%) and iso-C-15:1 G (17.4 W). The DNA G + C content was 45.2 mol%. Therefore, the phylogenetic, physiological and chemotaxonomic data demonstrated that strain THYL-44T represents a novel species of the genus Niastella, for which the name Niastella populi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is THYL-44(T) (=CCTCC AB 208238(T)=KCTC 22560(T)). On the basis of new data, an emended description of the genus Niastella is also proposed.