Pedobacter nutrimenti sp. nov., isolated from chilled food

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, non-spore-forming bacterial strain, designated J22^T, was isolated from fresh pasta filled with pork (tortellini) that had been stored at 6 °C. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain J22^T falls within the radiation of species of the genus Pedobacter. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, the closest species phylogenetically are Pedobacter panaciterrae LMG 23400^T (98.7 %), Pedobacter africanus DSM 12126^T (98.5 %) and Pedobacter heparinus DSM 2366^T (98.3 %). The only isoprenoid quinone of strain J22^T was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The major fatty acids were iso-C_15 : 0 (34.8 %), C_16 : 1 cis9 (24.9 %), C_16 : 0 (7.3 %), C_14 : 0 (4.8 %) and iso-C_17 : 0 3-OH (4.4 %). These chemotaxonomic characteristics supported the assignment of the isolate to the genus Pedobacter. DNA–DNA hybridization experiments showed that the DNA–DNA relatedness between strain J22^T and its closest phylogenetic neighbour, Pedobacter panaciterrae LMG 23400^T, was less than 36 %. This indicated that the isolate was distinct from this species. Biochemical tests allowed strain J22^T to be phenotypically differentiated from closely related species of the genus Pedobacter. As a consequence, strain J22^T should be classified as a representative of a novel species of the genus Pedobacter for which the name Pedobacter nutrimenti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is J22^T ( = DSM 27372^T = CCUG 64422^T).