Transfer of the waterfall source isolate Pectobacterium carotovorum M022 to Pectobacterium fontis sp. nov., a deep-branching species within the genus Pectobacterium.

Pectobacterium carotovorum M022 has been isolated from a waterfall source in Selangor district (Malaysia). Using genomic and phenotypic tests, we re-examined the taxonomical position of this strain. Based on 14 concatenated housekeeping genes (fusA, rpoD, rpoS, acnA, purA, gyrB, recA, mdh, mtlD, groEL, secY, glyA, gapA and rplB), multi-locus sequence analysis revealed that strain M022 falls into a novel clade separated from the other Pectobacterium species. The in silico DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity values were lower than the 70 and 95 % threshold values, respectively. In addition, by combining genomic and phenotypic tests, strain M022 may be distinguished from the other Pectobacterium isolates by its incapacity to grow on d(+)-xylose, l-rhamnose, cellobiose and lactose. Strain M022 (=CFBP 8629=LMG 30744) is proposed as the type strain of the Pectobacteriumfontis sp. nov.