A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming, aerobic bacterial strain, designated M327(T), was isolated from the weathered surfaces of rock (mica schist) from Susong, Anhui Province, PR China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain M327(T) belonged to the genus Paenibacillus and was related most closely to Paenibacillus terrigena A35(T) (98.6 % similarity) and Paenibacillus selenitireducens ES3-24(T) (98.3 %). Strain M327(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall and MK-7 as the major menaquinone. The main fatty acids of strain M327(T) were anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. The polar lipid profile contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, three unknown aminophospholipids and an unknown lipid. The total DNA G+C content of strain M327(T) was 48.6 mol%. Based on the low level of DNA-DNA relatedness (ranging from 26.6 to 33.1 %) to these type strains of species of the genus Paenibacillus and unique phenotypic characteristics, it is suggested that strain M327(T) represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus susongensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is M327(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2014058(T) = LMG 28236(T) = JCM 19951(T)).
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