The characteristics of the novel isolate are consistent with the description of the genus Sphingobacterium with respect to the morphological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic properties. On the basis of the phylogenetic distances between strain THG-SQA8 and recognized species of the genus Sphingobacterium, the indicated 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values, DNA–DNA hybridization relatedness values, the combination of unique phenotypic characteristics (Table 1), respiratory quinones, fatty acid profiles and polar lipid profiles, it is demonstrable that strain THG-SQA8T represents a novel species of the
genus Sphingobacterium, for which the name Sphingobacterium
mucilaginosum sp. nov. is proposed.