Two actinobacterial strains, JR-43T and JR-4, were isolated from bamboo (Sasa borealis) rhizosphere soil. The isolates produced grey aerial mycelium and a yellow soluble pigment on ISP 4. Microscopic observation revealed that strains JR-43T and JR-4 produced rectiflexibiles spore chains with spiny surfaces. Both isolates had antibacterial activity against plant-pathogenic bacteria, such as Xanthomonas campestris LMG 568T and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria LMG 905. The isolates contained iso-C14 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0 as the major fatty acids and MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8) as the major isoprenoid quinones. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains JR-43T and JR-4 showed that they grouped within Streptomyces cluster II and had highest sequence similarity to Streptomyces seoulensis NBRC 16668T and Streptomyces recifensis NBRC 12813T (both 98.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). DNA–DNA relatedness between strain JR-43T and S. seoulensis NBRC 16668T and S. recifensis NBRC 12813T ranged from 31.42 to 42.92 %. Based on DNA–DNA relatedness and morphological and phenotypic data, strains JR-43T and JR-4 could be distinguished from the type strains of phylogenetically related species. They are therefore considered to represent a novel species of the genus Streptomyces , for which the name Streptomyces gramineus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JR-43T ( = KACC 15079T  = NBRC 107863T). Strain JR-43 ( = KACC 15078  = NBRC 107864) is a reference strain.

Three exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria, designated strains DRP28T, DRP29 and DRP31, were isolated from the rhizoplane of Angelica sinensis from the Geumsan, Republic of Korea. Cells were straight rods, Gram reaction-negative, aerobic, non-motile, and catalase- and oxidase- positive. Flexirubin-type pigments were absent. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that these bacteria belong to the genus Mucilaginibacter in the phylum Bacteroidetes. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to strains of recognized species of the genus Mucilaginibacter were 93.8–97.4 %. The major fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or iso-C15 : 0 2-OH). The strains contained MK-7 as the major isoprenoid quinone. Strains DRP28T, DRP29 and DRP31 formed a single, distinct genomospecies with DNA G+C contents of 41.9–42.7 mol% and DNA hybridization values of 82.6–86.8 %; the strains exhibited DNA–DNA hybridization values of only 20.4–41.3 % with related species of the genus Mucilaginibacter. On the basis of evidence presented in this study, strains DRP28T, DRP29 and DRP31 were considered to represent a novel species of the genus Mucilaginibacter, for which the name Mucilaginibacter polysacchareus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DRP28T ( = KACC 15075T  = NBRC 107757T).

An exopolysaccharide-producing bacterium, designated strain DRP 35 T , was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of a medicinal herb, Angelica sinensis, at Geumsan in Korea. Cells were Gramstaining-negative, non-motile, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative short rods. The isolate grew aerobically from 15 to 45 6C (optimum 30 6C), pH 3.5-7.0 (optimum pH 5.0) and in the presence of 0-1.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The phylum Acidobacteria constitutes one of the most abundant (~20 % of the total bacterial community) and broadly distributed groups of bacteria in soil ecosystems but is relatively difficult to cultivate and poorly represented in culture (Janssen, 2006). To date, 12 genera of this phylum have been described: Acidobacterium (Kishimoto et al

A halo-and organo-sensitive oligotrophic bacterium, designated strain SY-6 T , was isolated from humus forest soil at Gyeryong mountain in Korea. Cells of the strain were Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile rods and the strain formed yellow-pigmented colonies on 100-fold-diluted nutrient broth. Strain SY-6 T grew at pH 6.0-7.0 (optimal growth at pH 7.0), at 10-37 6C(optimal growth at 28 6C) and at salinities of 0-0.5 % (w/v) NaCl, growing optimally at 0.01 % (w/v) NaCl. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain SY-6 T was shown to belong to the genus Sphingomonas and showed the closest phylogenetic similarity to Sphingomonas polyaromaticivorans B2-7 T (96.7 %). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and sphingoglycolipid. The predominant ubiquinone and polyamine were Q-10 and sym-homospermidine, respectively. The major fatty acids were C 18 : 1 v7c and C 16 : 0 . The DNA G+C content of the novel isolate was 65.3 mol%. On the basis of the evidence from this polyphasic study, strain SY-6 T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingomonas, for which the name Sphingomonas oligoaromativorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SY-6 T (5KACC 12948 T 5NBRC 105508 T ).

A novel strain designated T , belonging to the class Sphingobacteriia (phylum Bacteroidetes), was isolated from the rhizoplane of Dioscorea japonica in South Korea and was characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. The strain was found to comprise Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming rods. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the strain belonged to the genus Chitinophaga but was clearly separated from established species of the genus Chitinophaga. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between strain MRP-15 T and type strains of established species of the genus Chitinophaga ranged from 90.3 to 97.8 %. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data (major menaquinone, MK-7; major fatty acids, iso-C 15 : 0 and C 16 : 1 v5c) supported the affiliation of strain MRP-15 T with the genus Chitinophaga. Therefore strain MRP-15 T represents a novel species of the genus Chitinophaga, for which the name Chitinophaga polysaccharea sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MRP-15 T (5KACC 17184 T 5NCAIMB 02530 T ).The genus Chitinophaga, a member of the family Chitinophagaceae in the phylum Bacteroidetes, was originally proposed by Sangkhobol & Skerman (1981 , isolated from the rhizoplane of Dioscorea japonica, was shown to belong to the genus Chitinophaga according to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. In this study, its detailed taxonomic position was investigated using polyphasic analyses. Strain MRP-15T was originally isolated from rhizoplane of Dioscorea japonica obtained from Geumsan (36 u 119 110 N 127 u 549 320 E). The rhizoplane of Dioscorea japonica was thoroughly suspended and the suspension was spread on potato dextrose agar (Difco) plates. The plates were incubated at 28 u C for 3 days. Single colonies were purified by transferring onto R2A agar (Difco) plates and incubating at 28 u C once again. Strain T was routinely cultured on R2A agar at 28 u C and maintained as a glycerol suspension (20 %, w/v) at 280 u C. In order to characterize strain T phenotypically, the isolate was routinely grown aerobically on R2A agar for 3 days at 28 u C and pH 7.0, except where indicated otherwise.The morphology of the isolate was observed by Gram staining and scanning electron microscopy, and motility was observed by phase-contrast microscopy (Eclipse 80i; Nikon) using cells from exponentially growing cultures. Gram staining was performed by the Burke method (Murray et al., 1994). Catalase activity was determined by assessing bubble production in 3 % (v/v) H 2 O 2 , and oxidase activity was determined using 1 % (w/v) tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine. Carbon-source utilization and enzyme activities were tested by using API 20NE, API 50CH and API ZYM test kits (bioMérieux). Growth at 4, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 37, 40, 45 and 50 u C and at pH 3.0-10.0 (in increments of 0.5 pH unit) was assessed in R2A broth after Abbreviation: EPS, exopolysaccharide.The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain T is KC430923. 5 days. The pH of the medium was adjus...