Lactobacillus composti sp. nov., a lactic acid bacterium isolated from a compost of distilled shochu residue

Two strains of lactic acid bacteria, strains NRIC 0689^T and NRIC 0690, were isolated from a compost of distilled shochu residue in Japan. The isolates showed quite low sequence similarity to known species of lactic acid bacteria on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence; the highest sequence similarities to NRIC 0689^T were shown by the type strains of Lactobacillus satsumensis, L. plantarum, L. hilgardii, L. buchneri and L. parabuchneri (92.9, 92.9, 92.8, 92.6 and 92.5 %, respectively). The isolates formed a distinct subcluster in the Lactobacillus caseiPediococcus phylogenetic cluster. Levels of DNADNA relatedness revealed that the isolates belonged to the same taxon. Therefore, the isolates represent a novel species, for which the name Lactobacillus composti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NRIC 0689^T (=JCM 14202^T=DSM 18527^T).