Lactobacillus furfuricola sp. nov., isolated from Nukadoko, rice bran paste for Japanese pickles.

Two strains of lactic acid bacteria, Nu27T and Nu29, were isolated from Nukadoko, rice bran paste for Japanese pickles. The isolates were Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, catalase-negative, non-motile and facultatively anaerobic lactic acid bacteria. The isolates showed identical 16S rRNA gene sequences. The closest relatives to strain Nu27T based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities were Lactobacillus versmoldensis KU-3T (98.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Lactobacillus nodensis iz4bT (96.3 %) and Lactobacillus tucceti CECT 5290T (97.2 %). DNA–DNA relatedness values revealed genotype separation of the two isolates from the above three species. Based on the physiological, biochemical and genotypic characteristics provided, the isolates represent a novel species of the genus Lactobacillus , for which name is Lactobacillus furfuricola proposed. The type strain is Nu 27T ( = JCM 18764T = NRIC 0900T = DSM 27174T).