Chitinophaga barathri sp. nov., isolated from mountain soil

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped, aerobic bacterium, designated strain YLT18T, was isolated from mountain cliff soil of Enshi Grand Canyon in China. The major menaquinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7) and the predominant fatty acids (>5 %) were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/iso-C15 : 0 2-OH) and iso-C15 : 0 3-OH. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, two unknown aminophospholipids, two unknown aminolipids and two unknown polar lipids. The DNA G+C content was 55.4 mol%. According to phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain YLT18T was related most closely to Chitinophaga niabensis JS13-10T ( = DSM 24787T) and Chitinophaga cymbidii R156-2T ( = KCTC 23738T), with similarities of 96.7 and 96.2 %, respectively. In addition, strain YLT18T showed obvious differences from the closely related species in terms of esterase (C4) activity, acid production from fructose and rhamnose, and sole carbon source utilization by arabinose and rhamnose. The results from this polyphasic taxonomic study revealed that strain YLT18T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga barathri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YLT18T ( = KCTC 42472T = CCTCC AB 2015054T).

Micromonospora tulbaghiae sp. nov., isolated from the leaves of wild garlic, Tulbaghia violacea

A novel actinomycete, strain TVU1T, was isolated from leaves of the indigenous South African plant Tulbaghia violacea. Applying a polyphasic approach, the isolate was identified as a member of the genus Micromonospora. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain TVU1T was most closely related to Micromonospora echinospora DSM 43816T. However, phylogenetic analysis based on gyrB gene sequences showed that strain TVU1T was most closely related to the type strains of Micromonospora aurantiaca and Micromonospora chalcea. DNA–DNA relatedness values between strain TVU1T and the type strains of M. echinospora, M. aurantiaca and M. chalcea were 7.6±4.5, 45.9±2.0 and 60.9±4.5 %, respectively. Strain TVU1T could be distinguished from the type strains of all three of these species by several physiological characteristics, such as colony colour, NaCl tolerance, growth temperature range and sole carbon source utilization pattern. Strain TVU1T (=DSM 45142T=NRRL B-24576T) therefore represents a novel species for which the name Micromonospora tulbaghiae sp. nov. is proposed.

Co-composting of manure with fat, oil, and grease: Microbial fingerprinting and phytotoxicity evaluation

Sole carbon source utilization profiles to characterize compost maturity were evaluated in reference to several other physicochemical and biological maturity indices. The results suggested that the addition of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) had a significant effect on the biological processes in the sample piles when compared to the control pile. Additionally, principal components analysis of the patterns and the levels of microbial activity indicate that microbial communities differentiate in response to FOG additions from 1 to 20 L/m3. However, between 10 and 20 L/m3, no recognizable differences were found between the control and the FOG amendment communities. Biolog data indicates a shift in the structure and function of the microbial community in compost with high FOG additions, which may be a useful indicator of high functional diversity and evenness during composting processes. Finally, the germination index (GI) of lettuce increased from 9% in the control to 100% in the FOG amended compost. However, the addition of high amounts of FOG might in turn inhibit seed germination and root growth because of the high pH and electrical conductivity (EC), and the volatilization of NH3. From the present results, 10 L/m3 was found to be the optimum FOG amendment rate for manure compost. These amendment rates are empirical and may be regarded as potential guidelines to agricultural practitioners.