Pedobacter himalayensis sp nov., from the Hamta glacier located in the Himalayan mountain ranges of India

Strain HHS 22(T) was isolated from a glacial water sample from the snout of the Hamta glacier located in the Himalayan mountain ranges of India. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses established the affiliation of the isolate to the genus Pedobacter. HHS 22(T) exhibits high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Pedobacter cryoconitis (98%). However, the level of DNA-DNA relatedness between HHS 22(T) and P. cryoconitis is only 42%. Furthermore, HHS 22(T) differs from P. cryoconitis and the four other recognized species of Pedobacter in a number of phenotypic characteristics. These data suggest that HHS 22(T) represents a novel species of the genus Pedobacter, for which the name Pedobacter himalayensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HHS 22(T) (= JCM 12171(T) = MTCC 6384(T)).