Chitinophaga vermicomposti sp. nov., with antifungal activity, isolated from vermicompost

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterial strain, YC6729T, was isolated from the vermicompost (VC) collected at Masan, Korea and its taxonomic position was investigated by a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Strain YC6729T grew optimally at 30 degrees C and at pH 6.5-8.5. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain YC6729T belongs to the genus Chitinophaga in the family Chitinophagaceae. Most closely related species are Chitinophaga terra KP01T (96.4 %), Chitinophaga ginsengisegetis Gsoil 040T (96.1 %) and Chitinophaga arvensicola IAM 12650T (96.1 %). Strain YC6729T contained MK-7 as the major menaquinone and homospermidine as the major polyamine. The major fatty acids of strain YC6729T C15:0 iso, C16:1omega5c and C17:0 iso 3-OH. The total DNA G+C content was 48.9 mol%. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data showed that strain YC6729T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga vermicomposti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YC6729T (= KACC 13774T = DSM 22224T).