Filimonas zeae sp. nov., an endophytic bacterium isolated from maize root

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile by gliding and filamentous strain, designated 772 T ,was isolated from surface-sterilized root tissue of maize planted in the Fangshan District of Beijing, China. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain 772 T was closely related to Filimonas endophytica SR2-06 T andFilimonas lacunae YT21 T of the family Chitinophagaceae with sequence similarities of 99.0 and 96.9 %, respectively. However, the new isolate exhibited relatively low levels of DNA-DNA relatedness with respect to Filimonas. endophytica KCTC 42060 T (18.7±1.8 %) and Filimonas. lacunae DSM 21054 T (17.9±2.0%). The DNA G+C content of strain 772 T was 44.9 mol%. The respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7 and the polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified aminophospholipids, two unidentified phospholipids and one unidentified lipid. The major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 1 G. The results of the physiological and biochemical tests and minor differences in the fatty acid profiles allowed the clear phenotypic differentiation of strain 772 T from the closely related species Filimonas. endophytica andF. lacunae. Strain 772 T hus represents a novel species within the genus Filimonas, for which the name Filimonas zeae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 772 T (=CGMCC 1.15290 T =DSM 100760 T ).