Arthrobacter koreensis sp. nov., a novel alkalitolerant bacterium from soil

Two Arthrobacter strains, CA15-8^T and CA15-9, were isolated from soil, under alkali conditions, and characterized phenotypically, chemotaxonomically and genetically. These alkalitolerant organisms grew over a wide pH range (pH 7·012·0), with an optimum at pH 7·08·0. The mean G+C content of the DNA of these strains was 63±2 mol%. The strains contained MK-8(H₂) and MK-9(H₂) as the main respiratory quinones. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was Lys-Thr-Ala₂ and the whole-cell sugar was rhamnose. The major cellular fatty acids of the isolates were anteiso-C_{15 : 0} and iso-C_{15 : 0}. A phylogenetic analysis, based on 16S rDNA sequence data, revealed that strains CA15-8^T and CA15-9 formed an evolutionary lineage distinct from other Arthrobacter species. On the basis of morphological, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, 16S rDNA sequence comparisons and DNADNA hybridization data, a novel species of Arthrobacter is proposed, namely Arthrobacter koreensis (type strain CA15-8^T=KCTC 9922^T=IFO 16787^T).