Pedobacter nutrimenti sp. nov., isolated from chilled food

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, non-spore-forming bacterial strain, designated J22(T), was isolated from fresh pasta filled with pork (tortellini) that had been stored at 6 °C. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain J22(T) falls within the radiation of species of the genus Pedobacter. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, the closest species phylogenetically are Pedobacter panaciterrae LMG 23400(T) (98.7 %), Pedobacter africanus DSM 12126(T) (98.5 %) and Pedobacter heparinus DSM 2366(T) (98.3 %). The only isoprenoid quinone of strain J22(T) was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 (34.8 %), C16 : 1 cis9 (24.9 %), C16 : 0 (7.3 %), C14 : 0 (4.8 %) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (4.4 %). These chemotaxonomic characteristics supported the assignment of the isolate to the genus Pedobacter. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments showed that the DNA-DNA relatedness between strain J22(T) and its closest phylogenetic neighbour, Pedobacter panaciterrae LMG 23400(T), was less than 36 %. This indicated that the isolate was distinct from this species. Biochemical tests allowed strain J22(T) to be phenotypically differentiated from closely related species of the genus Pedobacter. As a consequence, strain J22(T) should be classified as a representative of a novel species of the genus Pedobacter for which the name Pedobacter nutrimenti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is J22(T) ( = DSM 27372(T) = CCUG 64422(T)).