A Gram-stain-positive, spore-forming and facultative aerobic bacterium, designated C11T, was isolated from mountain soil collected in the Republic of Korea. The cells were motile rods with peritrichous flagella, and positive for catalase and oxidase activities. Strain C11T grew at 15-45 °C (optimum, 30-37 °C) and pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum, pH 6.0) and in the presence of 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0.5 %). Strain C11T contained menaquinone-7 as the sole isoprenoid quinone and iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0 as the major fatty acids. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine were the major polar lipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 38.8 mol%. Strain C11T was most closely related to Neobacillus drentensis IDA1967T and Mesobacillus foraminis CV53T, with 98.0 and 97.7 %, 71.7 and 69.9 %, and 20.1 and 20.3 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, average nucleotide identity, and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene and genome sequences showed that strain C11T was included in a phyletic lineage with members of the genus Neobacillus but was distinct from members of the genus Mesobacillus. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular properties suggested that strain C11T represents a novel species of the genus Neobacillus, for which the name Neobacillus terrae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is C11T (=KACC 21661T=JCM 33943T).
Keywords: Bacillota; Neobacillus terrae; new taxa; soil.