Chemotaxonomic and Phylogenetic Study on the Oligotrophic Bacteria Isolated from Forest Soil

Oligotrophic bacteria isolated from forest soil showed a specific community consisting of various taxonomic groups compared with those in other soil or aquatic habitats. Based on the cell shape, the isolates were divided into four groups: regular rod, curved/spiral rod, irregular rod, and prosthecate bacteria. The cellular fatty acids 60 oligotrophic isolates were analyzed. The 30 fatty acids which were identified or characterized are classified. At the dendrogram based on cellular fatty acid composition, four clusters(I-IV) were separated at a euclidian distance of about 50. Cluster 3 and 4-a strains were containing Q-8, these strains are accommodated in the Proteobacteria gamma and beta subdivision. The chemotaxonomic profiles of the cluster 4-a strains showed good agreement with those of the genus Burkholderia. Cluster 3 was characterized by the presence of branched-chain fatty acids, iso-C15:0, iso-C17:1, and iso-C17:0 as the major components. These chemotaxonomy suggested the close relationship of the isolates with Xathomonas/Sterotrophomonas group. Based on the 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the two representative strains(MH256 and MA828) of cluster 3 showed the close relation to genera, Xathomonas/Sterotrophomonas, but were not included in these genera. These strains were even further away from core Xanthomonas, and clearly were seen to branch outside the cluster formed by the Sterotrophomonas maltophilia. MH256 and MA828 16S rDNA sequence was different enough to put new genus on a separate branch. The isolates with Q-10 were also studied. They are corresponded to the two large groups in Proteobacteria alpha subdivision. One was incorporated in the genus Bradyrhizobium cluster, which also includes Agromonas, a genus for oligotrophic bacteria. The strains of the other group showed high similarity to the genus Agrobacterium.