LAUSR

A Gram-staining-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium, designated strain M5HDSG1-1T, was originally isolated from a surface-sterilized root of Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. in Guizhou, PR China. This bacterium was tested by a polyphasic approach to determine its taxonomic position. A 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that M5HDSG1-1T had the greatest similarity to the type strain of Bacillus nealsonii DSM 15077T (99.1 %). The average nucleotide identity values between M5HDSG1-1T and Bacillus nealsonii DSM 15077T and Bacillus circulans NBRC 13626T were 73.3 and 72.8 %, respectively. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between M5HDSG1-1T and Bacillus nealsonii DSM 15077T and Bacillus circulans NBRC 13626T were 20.1 and 20.6 %, respectively, which were below the recommended thresholds. M5HDSG1-1T grew at a pH range of 6.0-12.0 (optimum, 7.0-8.0), at temperatures between 10 and 45 °C (optimum, 30 °C) and at 0-2 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 1 %). Neither substrate nor aerial mycelia was formed, and no diffusible pigments were observed on the media tested. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was menaquinone-7 (MK-7). The major fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, and iso-C15 : 0. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid and an unidentified phospholipid. The DNA G+C content was 37.5 mol%. According to the phylogeneic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data, M5HDSG1-1T was clearly distinguishable from other species with validly published names in the genus Bacillus and should therefore be classified as representing a novel species, and we suggest the name Bacillus taxi sp. nov. The type strain is M5HDSG1-1T (=JCM 33117T=CGMCC 1.13668T).