Paenibacillus paeoniae sp nov., a novel endophytic bacterium isolated from leaf of Paeonia lactiflora Pall.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium, designated strain M4BSY-1(T), was originally isolated from a surface-sterilized leaf of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. in Guizhou, China. The bacterium was characterized by a polyphasic approach to determine its taxonomic position. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison revealed that strain M4BSY1 T belongs to the genus Paenibacillus and most closely to Paenibacillus pinioli NB5(T) (98.31% similarity). Neither substrate nor aerial mycelia formed, and no diffusible pigments were observed on the media tested. Strain M4BSY-1(T) grew in the pH range 7.0-13.0 (optimum, 7.0-8.0), at temperatures between 10-37 degrees C (optimum, 30 degrees C) and at 0-5% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 12 %). The predominant menaquinone was MK-7. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C-15:0, C-16:0 and iso-C-16:0. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified unknown aminophospholipids and three unidentified phospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 48.8 mol%. According to the phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic evidence, strain M4BSY-1(T) was clearly distinguishable from other species with validly published names in the genus Paenibacillus and should therefore be classified as a novel species, and we suggest the name Paenibacillus paeoniae sp. nov. The type strain is M4BSY-1(T) (= KCTC 33997(T) = CGMCC 1.13667(T)).