Description of Oryzobacter telluris sp. nov., a New Species Isolated from Bank-Side Soil in Seomjin River, South Korea

A novel bacterial strain, designated 24SJ04S-52T, was isolated from bank-side soil in the Osucheon Stream of the Seomjin River, Republic of Korea. This strain is aerobic, Gram-stain-positive, and short-rod-shaped, with optimal growth observed at 30 °C, pH 7, and 0% salinity, and growth occurring across a temperature range of 15–37 °C, pH 5–9, and salinity of 0–4%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that strain 24SJ04S-52T shares 98.3% sequence similarity with Oryzobacter terrae PSGM2-16T. However, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values were 85.0% and 50.1%, respectively, which are well below the species delineation thresholds of 95–96% for ANI and 70% for dDDH, confirming the novelty of this species. Genomic analysis identified a genome size of 3.98 Mb with a G+C content of 72.9 mol%. Functional annotation revealed various genes involved in amino acid, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism, suggesting metabolic versatility that may support adaptation to nutrient-variable environments. Chemotaxonomic analyses revealed distinctive profiles, including major fatty acids such as C17:1 ω8c, iso-C16:0, and iso-C14:0, with MK-8(H4) as the predominant menaquinone. The polar lipids included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol, and the peptidoglycan was of type A4γ with meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. These comprehensive analyses support the classification of strain 24SJ04S-52T as a novel species within the genus Oryzobacter, for which the name Oryzobacter telluris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 24SJ04S-52T (=KACC 23836T = FBCC-B16192T).