A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and rod-shaped, bacterium designated as strain BS18T, was isolated from compost and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. On the basis of the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, BS18T represents a member of the genus Olivibacter of the family Sphingobacteriaceaeand is most closely related to Olivibacter oleidegradansTBF2/20.2T (93.7 %), Olivibacter jilunii 14-2AT (93.6 %), Olivibacter ginsengisoli Gsoil 060T (93.6 %), Pseudosphingobacterium domesticumDC186T (93.0 %) and shared ≤93.1 % sequence similarity with the other members of the genus Olivibacter. BS18T contained MK-7 as the predominant quinone, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 4 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1ω7c), as the major fatty acids and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) as main polar lipid. BS18T could be distinguished from the other members of the genus Olivibacter by a number of chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics. On the basis of the results of polyphasic taxonomic analysis, BS18T represents a novel species within the genus, for which the name Olivibacter ginsenosidimutans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Olivibacter ginsenosidimutans is BS18T (=KACC 16612T=JCM 18200T). It is also proposed to transfer Pseudosphingobacterium domesticumto the genus Olivibacter, as Olivibacter domesticus comb. nov. (type strain DC186T=CCUG 54353T=LMG 23837T).
Keywords: 16S rRNA gene; Olivibacter ginsenosidimutans; biotransformation; ginsenosides; polyphasic taxonomy.