Massilia arenae sp. nov., isolated from sand soil in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

A bacterial strain, designated GEM5 T , was isolated from sand soil samples from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The polyphasic study confirmed the affiliation of the isolate with the genus Massilia . GEM5 T had Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming and rod-shaped cells and grew at 4–30 °C, pH 6–8 and with 0–2 % (w/v) NaCl. Its cell wall contained ribose. Q8 was the predominant respiratory quinone, and summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 ω6 c /ω7 c ) and C 16 : 0 were the major components of the fatty acids. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified phospholipid, an unidentified aminolipid and four unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content was 65.1 mol%. The phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed a stable clade being formed by GEM5 T , Massilia timonae CCUG 45783 T (97.94 %) and Massilia oculi CCUG 43427A T (97.58 %). The average nucleotide identity (ANIb) values between GEM5 T and M. timonae CCUG 45783 T , M.oculi CCUG 43427A T were 91.3 and 91.7 %, respectively. On the basis of the morphological, physiological and chemotaxonomic pattern, it was proposed that strain GEM5 T (=JCM 32744 T =CICC 24458 T ) should be classified as representing a member of the genus Massilia with the name Massilia arenae sp. nov.