Bacillus telluris sp. nov. Isolated from Greenhouse Soil in Beijing, China

A novel Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium, which we designated as strain 03113(T), was isolated from greenhouse soil in Beijing, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed strain 03113(T) is in the genus Bacillus and had the highest similarity to Bacillus solani CCTCC AB 2014277(T) (98.14%). The strain grew at 4 °C–50 °C (optimum 37 °C), with 0–10% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 5%), and in the range of pH 3.0–12.0 (optimum pH 8.0). Menaquinone was identified as MK-7, and the major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylethanolamine. The main major cellular fatty acids detected were anteiso-C(15:0) (51.35%) and iso-C(15:0) (11.06%), which are the predominant cellular fatty acids found in all recognized members of the genus Bacillus. The 16S rRNA gene sequence and core-genome analysis, the average nucleotide identity (ANI), and in silico DNA—DNA hybridization (DDH) value between strain 03113(T) and the most closely related species were 70.5% and 22.6%, respectively, which supported our conclusion that 03113(T) represented a novel species in the genus Bacillus. We demonstrated that type strain 03113(T) (=ACCC 03113(T)=JCM 33017(T)) was a novel species in the genus Bacillus, and the name Bacillus telluris sp. nov. was proposed. Strain 03113(T) secreted auxin IAA and carried the nitrogenase iron protein (nifH) gene, which indicated that strain 03113(T) has the potential to fix nitrogen and promote plant growth. Bacillus telluris sp. nov. 03113(T) is a potential candidate for the biofertilizers of organic agriculture areas.