Rhizobium desertarenae sp. nov., isolated from the Saline Desert Soil from the Rann of Kachchh, India

Abstract A novel bacterial strain designated ADMK78 T was isolated from the saline desert soil. The cells were rod-shaped, Gram-negative, and non-motile. The strain ADMK78 T grows best at 28°C and pH 7.0 and can tolerate up to 2% (w/v) NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, the strain ADMK78 T belongs to the genus Rhizobium , with the highest similarity to Rhizobium wuzhouense W44 T (98.7%) and Rhizobium ipomoeae shin9-1 T (97.9%). Core-genes based phylogenetic analysis revealed that the strain ADMK78 T forms a distinct branch in between Rhizobium ipomoeae shin9-1 T and Rhizobium selenitireducens BAA-1503 T . The average nucleotide identity of ADMK78 T was less than 82%, to members of the family Rhizobiaceae . The genomic DNA G+C content of strain ADMK78 T is 58.6 mol%. The major fatty acids of strain ADMK78 T were C 18:0 and C 18:1 ω7c . The strain ADMK78 T showed differences in physiological, phenotypic, and protein profiles estimated by MALDI-TOF MS to its closest relatives. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic properties, and phylogenetic analyses, the strain ADMK78 T could be distinguished from the recognized species of the genus Rhizobium . It is suggested to represent a novel species of this genus, for which the name Rhizobium desertarenae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ADMK78 T (=MCC 3400 T ; KACC 21383 T ; JCM 33657 T ).