ARS | Publication request: Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov. Validation and inclusion onto the list of organisms with standing in nomenclature.

Submitted to: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 11, 2008
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Citation: Hunter, W.J., Kuykendall, L.D., Manter, D.K. 2008. Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov. Validation and inclusion onto the list of organisms with standing in nomenclature. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 58:1057.

Technical Abstract: This is a submission to the list of microorganisms with standing in nomenclature. The list of valid microbial names is maintained by the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology and we are proposing that Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov. be added to the list as a valid species belonging to the genus Rhizobium. The organism is a Gram-negative, non-pigmented bacterium that was isolated from a laboratory bioreactor that reduced selenate to elemental red selenium. 16S rRNA gene sequence alignment was used to identify the isolate as a Rhizobium sp. belonging to the Rhizobium clade that includes R. daejeonense, R. giardinii, R. undicola, R. larrymoorei, R. radiobacter, R. rubi, and R. vitis. R. radiobacter and R. rubi are its closest relatives but their 16S rRNA gene sequence alignments differ from Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov. by 2.6 and 2.8%, respectively. In this group strains that show 16S rRNA sequence variances that exceed 0.8 to 2.2% have been classified as different species. Cellular fatty acids present in Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov.were C16:0 (1.8%), C18:0 (3.38%), 18:0 3-OH (1.6%), 18:1 w8c (86.8%), 19:0 cyclow8c (1.5%), and summed features 2 (3.8%) and 3 (1.2%). Based on rDNA sequence and on fatty acid makeup this bacteria belongs to the bacterial genus Rhizobium but does not belong to any named species within the group. We propose that the organism be named Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov. Rhizobium selenireducens sp. nov. may have value as a inoculum for the remediation of groundwater that is contaminated with selenate or selenite.