Five strains (Ryu1-2T, Gon2-9, Ryu4-3, Nog8-1 and Aza1-1) of lactic acid bacteria were isolated
from flowers in mountainous areas in Japan, Oze National Park, Iizuna mountain and the Nikko
area. The five isolates were found to share almost identical (99.6–100% similar) 16S rRNA gene
sequences and were therefore deemed to belong to the same species. These isolates exhibited
low levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to known lactic acid bacteria; the closest
recognized relatives to strain Ryu1-2T were the type strains of Lactobacillus hilgardii (92.8%
similarity), Lactobacillus kefiri (92.7 %), Lactobacillus composti (92.6 %) and Lactobacillus
buchneri (92.4 %). Comparative analyses of rpoA and pheS gene sequences demonstrated that
the novel isolates did not show significant relationships to other Lactobacillus species. The strains
were Gram-stain-positive, catalase-negative and homofermentative. The isolates utilized a narrow
range of carbohydrates as sources of carbon and energy, including glucose and fructose. On the
basis of phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic data, these isolates represent a novel
species of the genus Lactobacillus, for which the name Lactobacillus floricola sp. nov. is
proposed. The type strain is Ryu1-2T (5NRIC 0774T 5JCM 16512T 5DSM 23037T).