Flavobacterium ginsenosidimutans sp. nov., a bacterium with ginsenoside converting activity isolated from soil of a ginseng field.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming, yellow-pigmented, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain THG 01(T), was isolated from the soil of a ginseng field in Pocheon province, South Korea, and its taxonomic position was investigated by using a polyphasic approach. Strain THG 01(T) grew well at 25-37 °C and pH 6.0-7.5 in the absence of NaCl on nutrient agar. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity data, strain THG 01(T) was shown to belong to the family Flavobacteriaceae and was related to Flavobacterium anhuiense D3(T) (97.5 % similarity), Flavobacterium johnsoniae UW101(T) (96.8 %) and Flavobacterium denitrificans ED5(T) (96.7 %). 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between the novel strain and members of other recognized species within the family Flavobacteriaceae were less than 96.7 %. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain THG 01(T) was 32.1 mol%. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data (major menaquinone was MK-6 and major fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(15 : 0) 3-OH and C(16 : 1)ω7c and/or C(16 : 1)ω6c ) supported the affiliation of strain THG 01(T) to the genus Flavobacterium. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments showed that DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain THG 01(T) and its closest phylogenetic neighbours were below 11 %. The results of physiological and biochemical tests enabled strain THG 01(T) to be differentiated genotypically and phenotypically from recognized species of the genus Flavobacterium. The isolate therefore represents a novel species, for which the name Flavobacterium ginsenosidimutans sp. nov. is proposed, with THG 01(T) ( = KACC 14525(T) = JCM 16720(T)) as the type strain.