Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped, gliding and pink-pigmented bacterial strains, X14-1 T and X19-1, were isolated from a mixture of sand samples collected from the desert of Xinjiang, China, and characterized by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Strains X14-1 T and X19-1 contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone. The major cellular fatty acids included iso-C 15 : 0 , iso-C 17 : 0 3-OH, summed feature 3 and summed feature 4.

A Gram-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped and pink-pigmented bacterium, designated strain X2-1g T , was isolated from a mixture of sand samples collected from the desert of Xinjiang, China, after exposure of the sand to 8 kGy gamma radiation. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated that this isolate represents a novel member of the genus Hymenobacter, with low sequence similarities (,97 %) to recognized Hymenobacter species. Biolog GN2 assays supported this conclusion. Optimum growth was observed at pH 7 and 28 6C. The strain contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone and the major fatty acids were iso-C 15 : 0 (19.5 %), C 16 : 1 v7c/iso-C 15 : 0 2-OH (20.2 %), C 16 : 1 v5c (10.6 %), C 16 : 0 (6.2 %), anteiso-C 17 : 1 B/iso-C 17 : 1 I (8.5 %) and C 18 : 0 (6.5 %). The DNA G+C content was 54 mol% (T m ). On the basis of the polyphasic evidence presented, it is proposed that strain X2-1g T represents a novel species of the genus Hymenobacter, for which the name Hymenobacter xinjiangensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is X2-1g T (5CCTCC AB 206080 T 5IAM 15452 T ).

A novel strain, designated 311-10 T , isolated from soil of Xinjiang, China, was characterized by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The isolate was Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. The predominant menaquinone of strain 311-10 T was MK-7 and the genomic DNA G+C content was 47.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate formed a cluster with the genera Pontibacter and [Effluviibacter] in the phylum 'Bacteroidetes', with sequence similarities of 93.9-95.6 %. Phylogenetic evidence and the results of phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses support the reclassification of [Effluviibacter] roseus as Pontibacter roseus comb. nov. (type strain, SRC-1 T 5MTCC 7260 T 5DSM 17521 T ) and the establishment of a novel species, Pontibacter xinjiangensis sp. nov., with strain 311-10 T (5CCTCC AB 207200 T 5NRRL B-51335 T ) as the type strain.The genus Pontibacter, a member of the phylum 'Bacteroidetes' with menaquinone 7 (MK-7) as the main respiratory quinone, accommodates heterotrophic, aerobic, rod-shaped, Gram-negative and pink-pigmented bacteria. At the time of writing, Pontibacter species with validly published names comprise Pontibacter actiniarum, isolated from marine actinians (Nedashkovskaya et al., 2005), and Pontibacter akesuensis (Zhou et al., 2007) During the course of studying the bacterial communities associated with soil in Xinjiang, China, bacterial strain 311-10 T was isolated. The strain appeared as pinkpigmented, circular, convex, shiny colonies with a smooth surface after 48 h cultivation at 30 uC on 0.36 marine agar 2216 (MA; Difco). After primary isolation and purification, the novel strain was cultivated at 30 u C for 2 days on 0.36 MA and cellular morphology was observed by phasecontrast microscopy (Olympus). Except where indicated, the isolate was routinely grown aerobically on 0.36 MA for 2 days at 30 u C.The gliding-motility test was performed as described by Bowman (2000). Oxidase activity was evaluated via the oxidation of 1 % p-aminodimethylaniline oxalate. Catalase activity was determined by measurements of bubble production after the application of 3 % (v/v) hydrogen peroxide solution. Tests were also made for hydrolysis of starch (1 %, w/v), cellulose (0.1 %, w/v), chitin from crab shells (1 %, w/v), casein (5 %, w/v) and tyrosine (0.5 %, w/v) as described by Smibert & Krieg (1994). Tolerance of NaCl concentrations (0-6 %, w/v) was determined at 1 % NaCl increments. Growth was examined at different temperatures (4, 10, 20, 28, 30, 37 and 42 u C) and pH values (5.0-11.0 at 1.0 pH unit increments).Carbon-source oxidation was investigated by using the Biolog GN2 Microplate system as recommended by the manufacturer. Additional enzyme activities and biochemical features were determined by API kits (API 20NE, API 20E and API ZYM) according to the manufacturer's instructions (bioMérieux).Isoprenoid quinones were extracted from lyophilized cells and analysed by HPLC (UltiMate 3000; Dionex...

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A novel strain, designated HY-50RT , isolated from soil of a Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) forest in Xinjiang, China, was characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of the isolate were Gram-reaction-negative, strictly aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, oxidase-negative and catalase-positive. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate was a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes, its closest relatives being Niastella populi THYL-44 T (93.6 % similarity), Flavisolibacter ginsengisoli Gsoil T was most closely related to members of the family Chitinophagaceae within the phylum Bacteroidetes. The strain was, therefore, subjected to further taxonomic investigation, the results of which suggest that strain HY-50RT represents a novel species of a novel genus in the family Chitinophagaceae.To isolate the strain, a soil sample was serially diluted with sterilized water and the dilutions were plated onto R2A agar (Difco) and incubated at 30 uC for 4 days. Growth of strain HY-50RT was also evaluated on nutrient agar (NA, Difco), tryptic soy agar (TSA, Difco), 0.16TSA and MacConkey agar (Difco) at 30 u C. As strain HY-50R T grew well on NA, R2A, TSA and 0.16TSA, it was routinely cultured on 0.16TSA at 30 u C.Colony morphology was observed visually and cell morphology and motility were observed using phase-contrastThe GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain HY-50R T is HM130561.One supplementary figure is available with the online version of this paper. microscopy (Olympus BX51) using two-day-old cultures grown on 0.16TSA at 30 u C. Gram-staining was performed using the modified Hucker method (Gerhardt et al., 1994). Oxidase activity was evaluated via the oxidation of 1 % p-aminodimethylaniline oxalate. Catalase activity was determined by measuring bubble production after the addition of 3 % (v/v) hydrogen peroxide solution. Tests for the hydrolysis of starch (1 %, w/v), cellulose (0.1 %, w/v), chitin from crab shells (1 %, w/v) and casein (5 %, w/v) were carried out as described by Smibert & Krieg (1994). Growth under anaerobic conditions was determined by incubation at 30 u C on 0.16TSA for 10 days in a GasPak (BBL) jar. Growth at 4, 10, 15, 30, 37 and 42 u C was tested on 0.16TSA. Growth at different pH levels was determined on 0.16TSA adjusted to pH 4-10 at intervals of 1 pH unit before sterilization (Xu et al., 2005). Tolerance of NaCl was determined on 0.16TSA supplemented with 1-5 % (w/v) NaCl at intervals of 1 %. The presence of flexirubin-type pigments was tested spectrophotometrically as described previously (Güde, 1980) using 20 % KOH. Enzyme activities and biochemical characteristics were determined by using API 20 NE, API 20 E, API ZYM and API ID 32 GN test kits (bioMérieux) according to the manufacturer's instructions.Menaquinones were extracted from lyophilized cells and identified using the method described by Xie & Yokota (2003) using HPLC (UltiMate 3000, Dionex). Polyamines were analysed as described previously (Schenke...