title: Bacillus mesophilum sp. nov., strain IITR-54T, a novel 4-chlorobiphenyl dechlorinating bacterium.
abstract: The taxonomic position of a Gram-positive, endospore-forming bacterium isolated from soil sample collected from an industrial site was analyzed by a polyphasic approach. The strain designated as IITR-54T matched most of the phenotypic and chemical characteristics of the genus Bacillus and represents a novel species. It was found to biodegrade 4-chlorobiphenyl through dechlorination and was isolated through enrichment procedure from an aged polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated soil. Both resting cell assay and growth under aerobic liquid conditions using 4-chlorobiphenyl as sole source of carbon along with 0.01% yeast extract, formation of chloride ions was measured. 16S rRNA (1,489 bases) nucleotide sequence of isolated strain was compared with those of closely related Bacillus type strains and confirmed that the strain belongs to the genus Bacillus. Strain IITR-54T differs from all other species of Bacillus by at least 2.1% at the 16S rRNA level, and the moderately related species are Bacillus oceanisediminis (97.9%) followed by Bacillus infantis (97.7%), Bacillus firmus (97.4%), Bacillus drentensis (97.3%), Bacillus circulans (97.2%), Bacillus soli (97.1%), Bacillus horneckiae (97.1%), Bacillus pocheonensis (97.1%) and Bacillus bataviensis (97.1%), respectively. The cell wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and the major isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. Major fatty acids are iso-C15:0 (32.4%) and anteiso-C15:0 (27.4%). Predominant polar lipids are diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed the genotypic and phenotypic distinctiveness of strain IITR-54T with its phylogenetic relatives and suggest that the strain IITR-54T should be recognized as a novel species, for which the name Bacillus mesophilum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IITR-54T (=MTCC 11060T=JCM 19208T).
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biotechnology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicological Research (IITR), Lucknow, 226 001, India.
authors.forename: Natesan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manickam
authors.forename: Nitin Kumar
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Abhay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bajaj
authors.forename: Rajendran Mathan
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Gurwinder
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Navjot
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Monu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bala
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Shanmugam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mayilraj
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D005838:Genotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C006983:4-chlorobiphenyl