Abstract
Phytopathogenic bacteria (MAFF 311311(T) and MAFF 311313) were isolated from sugarcane plants exhibiting leaf stripe symptoms associated with red stripe disease in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The strains were Gram-reaction-negative, aerobic, motile with one polar flagellum, rod-shaped and non-spore-forming. The genomic DNA G+C content was 69.0 mol%, and the major cellular fatty acids (>10 % of the total fatty acids) included summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1) ω7c and/or C(16 : 1) ω6c), C(16 : 0) and summed feature 8 (C(18 : 1) ω7c and/or C(18 : 1) ω6c). Phylogenomic analyses using whole-genome sequences consistently placed these strains within the genus Acidovorax. However, their phylogenetic positions did not correspond to any known species within this genus. Comparative analyses, including average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization with closely related species, yielded values below the thresholds for prokaryotic species delineation (95-96 and 70 %, respectively), with the highest values observed for Acidovorax oryzae ATCC 19882(T) (93.98 and 54.3 %, respectively). Phenotypic characteristics, cellular fatty acid composition and a repertoire of secretion systems and their effectors can differentiate these strains from their closest relatives. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic data obtained in this study indicate that MAFF 311311(T) and MAFF 311313 constitute a novel species within the genus Acidovorax, for which we propose the name Acidovorax sacchari sp. nov., with MAFF 311311(T) (=ICMP 25276(T)) designated as the type strain.