Paenibacillus chartarius sp. nov., isolated from a paper mill

The taxonomy of strain CCUG 55240T, a Gram-staining-positive, aerobic, endospore-forming bacterium that was isolated from a paper mill, was investigated using a polyphasic approach. In phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, the novel strain was grouped with established members of the genus Paenibacillus and appeared most closely related to the type strains of Paenibacillus chinjuensis (93.7 % sequence similarity), P. elgii (93.7 %) and P. chitinolyticus (93.6 %). The levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with other species of the genus Paenibacillus , including the type species of the genus, Paenibacillus polymyxa , were all <93.5 %. The fatty acid profile of strain CCUG 55240T, which showed a predominance of iso- and anteiso-branched fatty acids, supported the allocation of the strain to the genus Paenibacillus . Unusually high amounts of some iso-branched fatty acids, especially iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0, allowed differentiation of strain CCUG 55240T from the most closely related species of the genus Paenibacillus . The diagnostic diamino acid found in the cell-wall peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, an unknown glycolipid, an unknown aminophosphoglycolipid and an unknown phospholipid. Spermidine was the major polyamine. The results of some physiological and biochemical tests also allowed the phenotypic differentiation of strain CCUG 55240T from the most closely related recognized species. On the basis of the phylogenetic, phenotypic and molecular evidence, strain CCUG 55240T represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus , for which the name Paenibacillus chartarius sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the novel species is CCUG 55240T ( = CCM 7759T).