Lentibacillus cibarius sp. nov., isolated from kimchi, a Korean fermented food

Two bacterial strains designated NKC220-2 T and NKC851-2 were isolated from commercial kimchi from different areas in Korea. The strains were Gram-positive, aerobic, oxidaseand catalase-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming, non-motile, and halophilic bacteria. Both strains grew without NaCl, unlike type species in the genus Lentibacillus . The optimal pH for growth was 8.0, higher than that of the type species in the genus Lentibacillus , although growth was observed at pH 5.5-9.0. 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis indicated that the two strains (99.3-99.9% similarity) are grouped within the genus Lentibacillus and most closely related to Lentibacillus juripiscarius IS40-3 T (97.4-97.6% similarity) isolated from fish sauce in Thailand. OrthoANI value between two novel strains and Lentibacillus lipolyticus SSKP1-9 T (79.5-79.6% similarity) was far lower than the species demarcation threshold. Comparative genomic analysis displayed differences between the two strains as well as among other strains belonging to Lentibacillus . Furthermore, each isolate had strain-specific groups of orthologous genes based on pangenome analysis. Genomic G + C contents of strains NKC-220-2 T and NKC851-2 were 41.9 and 42.2 mol%, respectively. The strains contained meso -diaminopimelic acid in their cell walls, and the major menaquinone was menaquinone-7. Phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, and an unidentified glycolipid, aminophospholipid, and phospholipid were the major polar lipid components of both strains. The major cellular fatty acids of the strains were anteiso-C 15:0 and anteiso-C 17:0 . Based on phenotypic, genomic, phylogenetic, and chemotaxonomic features, strains NKC220-2 T and NKC851-2 represent novel species of the genus Lentibacillus , for which the name Lentibacillus cibarius sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NKC220-2 T (= KACC 21232 T = JCM 33390 T ).