Paenibacillus silagei sp nov isolated from corn silage

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium, strain LOOC204(T), was isolated from corn silage that had been prepared and stored in Hokkaido, Japan. The isolate grew well at 4-37 degrees C and at pH 6.0-8.5. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C-15:0, C-16:0, iso-C-14:0 and iso-C-16:0. The major menaquinone was MK-7. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified aminophospholipids, one unidentified phospholipid, two unidentified aminolipids and three unidentified lipids were detected as the cellular polar lipids. The genomic DNA G+C content of LOOC204(T) was 52.2 +/- 0.7 mol%. A comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that LOOC204(T) represented a member of the genus Paenibacillus, and high levels of sequence similarity of LOOC204(T) with Paenibacillus borealis KK19(T) (97.5 %) and Paenibacillus jilunlii Be17(T) (97.4 %) were found. Based on sequence analysis of the RNA polymerase beta subunit (rpoB) gene, LOOC204(T) was clearly separated from its phylogenetic neighbors in the genus Paenibacillus. DNA-DNA hybridisation experiments showed that LOOC204(T) displayed less than 40% reassociation values toward its nearest phylogenetic neighbours of the genus Paenibacillus, indicating the unique taxonomic status of LOOC204(T). Based on these data, we conclude that strain LOOC204(T) represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, named Paenibacillus silagei sp. nov. The type strain is LOOC204(T) (=JCM 30974(T) =DSM 101953(T)).