Sphingomonas floccifaciens sp. nov., isolated from subterranean sediment.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, non-sporulating, rod-shaped, orange-pigmented bacterium, designated strain FQM01, was isolated from a subterranean sediment sample in the Mohe permafrost area, China. Strain FQM01 grew optimally at 25 °C, pH 7.0 and NaCl concentration of 0 % (w/v). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain FQM01 belonged to the genus Sphingomonas. The closest phylogenetic relative was Sphingomonas spermidinifaciens GDMCC 1.657 (97.6 %), followed by Sphingomonas mucosissima DSM 17494 (97.2 %). The DNA G+C content of the isolate was 66.9 mol%. Strain FQM01 contained Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone, and C18 : 1ω6c and/or C18 : 1ω7c, C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c, C16 : 0, C14 : 0 2-OH and C18 : 1ω7c 11 methyl as the major fatty acids. Major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, sphingoglycolipid and an unidentified glycolipid. Only sym-homospermidine was detected as the polyamine. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic data, strain FQM01 is considered to represent a novel species of Sphingomonas for which the name Sphingomonasfloccifaciens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is FQM01 (=CGMCC 1.15797=KCTC 52630).