Description of six novel species Bacillus bruguierae sp. nov., Bacillus kandeliae sp. nov., Bacillus yunxiaonensis sp. nov., Metabacillus rhizosphaerae sp. nov., Metabacillus sediminis sp. nov. and Psychrobacillus mangrovi sp. nov., isolated from mangrove ecosystem

Six Gram-stain-positive and rod-shaped strains, designated FJAT-51614T, FJAT-51639T, FJAT-52054T, FJAT-52991T, FJAT-53654T and FJAT-53711T, were isolated from a mangrove ecosystem. The condition for growth among the strains varied (pH ranging 5.0-11.0 and temperature 15-45 °C). These strains showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the genera Bacillus, Metabacillus and Psychrobacillus. Menaquinone MK-7 (100%) was present in all strains except strain FJAT-51614T, which contained MK-7 (32%) and MK-8 (68%). The major fatty acids (>10%) in strains FJAT-52054T and FJAT-51614T were anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C14 : 0. The major fatty acid (>10%) in strain FJAT-53654T was anteiso-C15 : 0, while in strain FJAT-51639T were iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0. The major fatty acids in strains FJAT-52991T and FJAT-53711T were iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. The major polar lipids in strains FJAT-51639T, FJAT-52991T and FJAT-51614T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine, while strains FJAT-53711T, FJAT-52054T and FJAT-53654T consist of diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol. The genome-relatedness values among the present study strains and the closest species were below the recognized cutoff levels for species delineation. The polyphasic analysis comparison results represent six strains as novel species for which the names Bacillus bruguierae sp. nov. (FJAT-51639T=GDMCC 1.3073T=JCM 35615T), Bacillus kandeliae sp. nov. (FJAT-52991T=GDMCC 1.3069T=JCM 35619T), Bacillus yunxiaonensis sp. nov. (FJAT-53711T=GDMCC 1.3068T=JCM 35616T), Metabacillus rhizosphaerae sp. nov. (FJAT-53654T=GDMCC 1.3075T=JCM 35614T), Metabacillus sediminis sp. nov. (FJAT-52054T=GDMCC 1.3074T=JCM 35620T) and Psychrobacillus mangrovi sp. nov. (FJAT-51614T=GDMCC 1.3072T=JCM35478T) are proposed.

AppIndels.com server: a web-based tool for the identification of known taxon-specific conserved signature indels in genome sequences. Validation of its usefulness by predicting the taxonomic affiliation of >700 unclassified strains of Bacillus species

Taxon-specific conserved signature indels (CSIs) in genes/proteins provide reliable molecular markers (synapomorphies) for unambiguous demarcation of taxa of different ranks in molecular terms and for genetic, biochemical and diagnostic studies. Because of their predictive abilities, the shared presence of known taxon-specific CSIs in genome sequences has proven useful for taxonomic purposes. However, the lack of a convenient method for identifying the presence of known CSIs in genome sequences has limited their utility for taxonomic and other studies. We describe here a web-based tool/server (AppIndels.com) that identifies the presence of known and validated CSIs in genome sequences and uses this information for predicting taxonomic affiliation. The utility of this server was tested by using a database of 585 validated CSIs, which included 350 CSIs specific for ≈45 Bacillales genera, with the remaining CSIs being specific for members of the orders Neisseriales, Legionellales and Chlorobiales, family Borreliaceae, and some Pseudomonadaceae species/genera. Using this server, genome sequences were analysed for 721 Bacillus strains of unknown taxonomic affiliation. Results obtained showed that 651 of these genomes contained significant numbers of CSIs specific for the following Bacillales genera/families: Alkalicoccus, 'Alkalihalobacillaceae', Alteribacter, Bacillus Cereus clade, Bacillus Subtilis clade, Caldalkalibacillus, Caldibacillus, Cytobacillus, Ferdinandcohnia, Gottfriedia, Heyndrickxia, Lederbergia, Litchfieldia, Margalitia, Mesobacillus, Metabacillus, Neobacillus, Niallia, Peribacillus, Priestia, Pseudalkalibacillus, Robertmurraya, Rossellomorea, Schinkia, Siminovitchia, Sporosarcina, Sutcliffiella, Weizmannia and Caryophanaceae. Validity of the taxon assignment made by the server was examined by reconstructing phylogenomic trees. In these trees, all Bacillus strains for which taxonomic predictions were made correctly branched with the indicated taxa. The unassigned strains likely correspond to taxa for which CSIs are lacking in our database. Results presented here show that the AppIndels server provides a useful new tool for predicting taxonomic affiliation based on shared presence of the taxon-specific CSIs. Some caveats in using this server are discussed.