Affinibrenneria salicis gen. nov. sp. nov. isolated from Salix matsudana bark canker

L3-3HAT, a Gram-negative-staining, facultatively anaerobic, motile bacterial strain, was isolated from the symptomatic bark of Salix matsudana canker in China. 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the novel strain shares the highest sequence similarity with Brenneria goodwinii FRB141T (95.5%). In phylogenetic trees based on four housekeeping genes (gyrB, rpoB, atpD, and infB) and the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the novel strain formed a separate branch from the five genera of the family Pectobacteriaceae (Lonsdalea, Brenneria, Dickeya, Pectobacterium, and Sodalis), suggesting that the novel strain should belong to a novel species of a novel genus within the family Pectobacteriaceae. The result was also supported by phylogenomics, amino acid identity and average nucleotide identity. The major fatty acids were C14:0, C16:0, C17:0 cyclo, and C19:0 cyclo ɷ8c. Genome analysis showed that the novel strain has a large genome (5.89 Mb) with 5,052 coding genes, including 181 virulence genes by searching the pathogen-host interactions database (PHI-base), indicating that the novel strain is a potential pathogen of plants and animals. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, the L3-3HAT strain represents a novel species of a novel genus in the Pectobacteriaceae family, for which the name Affinibrenneria salicis gen nov. sp. nov. is proposed. The strain type is L3-3HAT (= CFCC 15588T = LMG 31209T).