C. K. Deepa

Pontibacter niistensis sp. nov., isolated from forest soil

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterial strain, NII-0905(T) [corrected], that was motile by gliding was isolated from soil of a dense forest collected from the Western Ghats of India and its taxonomic position was established. Strain NII-0905(T) [corrected] contained MK-7 as the major menaquinone and anteiso-C(17 : 0), anteiso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(16 : 0) and iso-C(15 : 0) as the major cellular fatty acids. The DNA G+C content of strain NII-0905(T) [corrected] was 51.47 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis confirmed the placement of strain NII-0905(T) [corrected] in the genus Pontibacter and strain NII-0905(T) [corrected] exhibited 93.9-96.3 % 16S rRNA sequence similarity with type strains of species of the genus Pontibacter. On the basis of genotypic and phenotypic evidence, strain NII-0905(T) [corrected] is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pontibacter, for which the name Pontibacter niistensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NII-0905(T) [corrected](=NCIM 5339(T) =CCTCC AA 209057(T)).

Isolation and characterization of plant growth-promoting strain Pantoea NII-186. From Western Ghat Forest soil, India

Aims:  To isolate plant growth‐promoting bacterium from Western Ghat forests in India.

Isolation and Characterization of High-Strength Phenol-Degrading Novel Bacterium of the Pantoea Genus

ABSTRACT A new indigenous soil bacterium Pantoea strain NII-153 utilizing phenol as a sole carbon source was isolated and characterized. Phylogenetic analysis suggested its classification to the Enterobacteriaceae family, with 95.0% gene sequence similarity to Pantoea ananatis ATCC 33244. Biodegradation rates of phenol by NII-153 were found to be more effective at 64 h with initial concentration of 600 mg L− 1 of phenol and this is the first report of such activity in Pantoea species. Strain NII-153 has showed high tolerance to phenol concentration (900 mg L− 1). Therefore, strain NII-153 could be used for biotreatment of high-strength phenol-containing industrial effluents and for bioremediation of phenol-contaminated soils.

Growth enhancement of black pepper (Piper nigrum) by a newly isolated Bacillus tequilensis NII-0943

A Gram positive, rod-shaped potential strain was selected from the pool of bacterial isolates obtained from the Western Ghats forest (India) on the basis of zone of P-solubilization activity. Identification based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain is of Bacillus species, sharing highest sequence similarity to Bacillus tequilensis NRRL B-41771T (99.5%). Strain NII-0943 was able to produce good amount of indole acetic acid (IAA) and was positive for siderophore production. In addition to IAA and siderophore attributes, strain NII-0943 also possessed the characteristics like Ca3(PO4)2 solubilization and growth in nitrogen-free medium. Seed inoculation with the strain NII-0943 resulted in significantly higher root initiation in black pepper cuttings grown under pots. The contents of nitrogen and phosphorus in both soil and plant were also enhanced significantly in treatments inoculated with these bacterial inocula. Hence, based on this evidence it is proposed that strain NII-0943 could be deployed as a plant growth-promoting inoculant to attain the desired results of bacterization.

Micrococcus niistensis sp. nov., isolated from forest soil

The authors of this paper would like to retract this article from publication. Despite repeated attempts, the authors have been unable to deposit a pure culture of the strain with two culture collections. Due to this problem, sufficient evidence can not be provided that this strain represents the type strain of a novel species as required for valid publication of a species name under the Bacteriological Code. For this reason, this paper has been retracted from IJSEM Papers in Press and will not be published in print in IJSEM.