A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, yellow-coloured, motile by gliding and elongated rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated SYP-B1015T, was isolated from the rhizosphere of Artemisia annua L. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain SYP-B1015T belonged to the genus Flavobacterium and had highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Flavobacterium compostarboris JCM 16527T (98.1 %) and Flavobacterium procerum JCM 30113T (97.2 %). The predominant respiratory quinone for the strain was MK-6, and the major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 3-OH and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH. The polar lipid profile contained phosphatidylethanolamine as a major compound. The DNA G+C content of strain SYP-B1015T was 33.5 mol%. The DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain SYP-B1015T and F. compostarboris JCM 16527T and F. procerum JCM 30113T were 56.5±0.4 and 48.9±1.2 %, respectively. Combining the data from morphological, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic characterizations presented in this study, strain SYP-B1015T represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium artemisiae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SYP-B1015T (=CGMCC 1.16115T=KCTC 62025T).
Keywords: 16S rRNA gene sequencing; Artemisia annua L.; Flavobacterium artemisiae sp. nov..