A Gram-negative bacterium, designated DCY13T, was isolated from soil of a ginseng field in South Korea. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain DCY13T shared the highest sequence similarity (95.0 %) with Sediminibacterium salmoneum NBRC 103935T and 87.6–91.4 % sequence similarity with other members of the family Chitinophagaceae . Cells were non-spore-forming rods, catalase- and oxidase-positive, motile by gliding and facultatively anaerobic. The only respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7) and the major fatty acids were iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 1 G. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 47.5±1.0 mol%. In addition to phosphatidylethanolamine, the major polar lipids were two unidentified aminophospholipids, one unidentified aminolipid and three unidentified polar lipids. The major cell-wall sugars were ribose, xylose and galactose. It is proposed that strain DCY13T represents a novel species in the genus Sediminibacterium , for which the name Sediminibacterium ginsengisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DCY13T ( = KCTC 12833T  = JCM 15794T  = DSM 22335T). Emended descriptions of the genus Sediminibacterium and of Sediminibacterium salmoneum are also proposed.

Traditional molecular methods have been used to examine bacterial communities in ginseng-cultivated soil samples in a time-dependent manner. Despite these efforts, our understanding of the bacterial community is still inadequate. Therefore, in this study, a high-throughput sequencing approach was employed to investigate bacterial diversity in various ginseng field soil samples over cultivation times of 2, 4, and 6 years in the first and second rounds of cultivation. We used non-cultivated soil samples to perform a comparative study. Moreover, this study assessed changes in the bacterial community associated with soil depth and the health state of the ginseng. Bacterial richness decreased through years of cultivation. This study detected differences in relative abundance of bacterial populations between the first and second rounds of cultivation, years of cultivation, and health states of ginseng. These bacterial populations were mainly distributed in the classes Acidobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Sphingobacteria. In addition, we found that pH, available phosphorus, and exchangeable Ca+ seemed to have high correlations with bacterial class in ginseng cultivated soil.

Strain DCY84 T , a Gram-stain positive, rodshaped, aerobic, spore-forming bacterium, motile by means of peritrichous flagella, was isolated from humus soil from Yongin forest in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Strain DCY84 T shared the highest sequence similarity with Paenibacillus barengoltzii KACC 15270 T (96.86 %), followed by Paenibacillus timonensis KACC 11491 T (96.49 %) and Paenibacillus phoenicis NBRC 106274 T (95.77 %). Strain DCY84 T was found to able to grow best in TSA at temperature 30°C, at pH 8 and at 0.5 % NaCl. MK-7 menaquinone was identified as the isoprenoid quinone. The major polar lipids were identified as phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid, two unidentified aminolipids and an unidentified polar lipid. The peptidoglycan was found to contain the amino acids meso-diaminopimelic acid, alanine and D-glutamic acid. The major fatty acids of strain DCY84 T were identified as branched chain anteiso-C 15:0 , saturated C 16:0 and branched chain anteiso-C 17:0 . The cell wall sugars of strain DCY84 T were found to comprise of ribose, galactose and xylose. The major polyamine was identified as spermidine. The DNA G?C content was determined to be 62.6 mol%. After 6 days of incubation, strain DCY84 T produced 52.96 ± 1.85 and 72.83 ± 2.86 lg/ml L-indole-3-acetic acid, using media without L-tryptophan and supplemented with Ltryptophan, respectively. Strain DCY84 T was also found to be able to solubilize phosphate and produce siderophores. On the basis of the phenotypic characteristics, genotypic analysis and chemotaxonomic characteristics, strain DCY84 T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus yonginensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DCY84 T (=KCTC 33428 T = JCM 19885 T ).

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, designated DCY83T , was isolated from soil of a ginseng field in Gwangju Province, Republic of Korea. Cells were motile by means of flagella. Growth occurred at 4-40 8C (optimum 30 8C), at pH 6-8 (optimum pH 7.0) and with j0.4 % NaCl. Strain DCY83 T was able to produce siderophore and was positive for phosphate solubilization. Indole-3-acetic acid production was 12.9 mg ml 21 after 3 days in culture. 16SrRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain DCY83 T belonged to the genus Duganella

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, red bacterium, designated DCY57T , was isolated from soil of a ginseng field in a mountainous region of Chungnam province in South Korea. Strain DCY57T grew with 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl and the optimum temperature for growth was 30 6C. Strain DCY57T contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone. The polyamine was sym-homospermidine. The major fatty acids were C 16:1 v5c, iso-C 15:0 , anteiso-C 15:0 and summed feature 3 (containing C 16:1 v7c and/or C 16:1 v6c). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, unknown aminophospholipids, unknown aminolipids and unknown lipids. The DNA G+C content was 58.9 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain DCY57 T was most closely related to members of the genus Hymenobacter.