Chimaereicella boritolerans sp. nov., a boron-tolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae isolated from soil

A non-motile, Gram-negative, boron-tolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium was isolated from soil of the Hisarcik area in the Kutahya Province of Turkey that was naturally high in boron minerals. The novel isolate, designated T-22(T), formed rod-shaped cells, was catalase- and oxidase-positive and tolerated up to 300 mM boron. The strain also survived on agar medium containing up to 3 % (w/v) NaCl. The pH range for growth of this strain was 6.5-10.0 (optimum pH 8.0-9.0) and the temperature range was 16-37 degrees C (optimum 28-30 degrees C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed a clear affiliation with the genus Chimaereicella, with 97.4 % sequence similarity to Chimaereicella alkaliphila AC-74(T), which was the highest similarity among cultivated bacteria. The DNA-DNA relatedness with C. alkaliphila AC-74(T) was 28.3 %. The major respiratory quinone system was MK-7 and the predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(17 : 1)omega9c, iso-C(17 : 0) 3-OH and summed feature 3 (iso-C(15 : 0) 2-OH and/or iso-C(16 : 1)omega7c). The DNA G+C content was 42.5 mol%. Based on the phylogenetic analysis and physiological, chemotaxonomic and genetic data, we concluded that strain T-22(T) should be classified in the genus Chimaereicella, and we propose the name Chimaereicella boritolerans sp. nov. for this novel species. The type strain is strain T-22(T) (=DSM 17298(T)=NBRC 101277(T)=ATCC BAA-1189(T)).