Gnomoniopsis (Gnomoniaceae, Diaporthales) is a well-classified genus inhabiting leaves, branches and fruits of the hosts in three plant families, namely Fagaceae, Onagraceae and Rosaceae. In the present study, eighteen Gnomoniopsis isolates were obtained from diseased leaves of Fagaceae hosts collected from Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Henan, Jiangxi and Shaanxi provinces in China. Morphology from the cultures and phylogeny based on the 5.8S nuclear ribosomal DNA gene with the two flanking internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) and the beta-tubulin (tub2) genes were employed to identify these isolates. As a result, seven species were revealed, viz. Gnomoniopsis castanopsidis, G. fagacearum, G. guangdongensis, G. hainanensis, G. rossmaniae and G. silvicola spp. nov, as well as a known species G. daii. In addition, G. daii was firstly reported on the host Quercus aliena.

Five Gran-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, motile, bacterial strains were isolated from symptomatic bark tissue ofPopulus×euramericanacanker. Strains grew at 4–41 °C, pH 4–10 and 0–6 % (w/v) salinity. They were positive with respect to catalase activity and negative for oxidase activity, nitrate reduction and the Voges–Proskauer reaction. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that these five poplar isolates belong to the genus Brenneria , having highest sequence similarity of 95.98 % with Brenneria goodwinii LMG 26270^T. These five isolates formed a single cluster based on multilocus sequence analysis, indicating that they all belong to a single taxon within the genus Brenneria , which was confirmed by DNA–DNA hybridization. The DNA G+C content was 54.9–55.7 mol%, and the main fatty acids were C_16 : 0, C_18 : 1ω7c, C_17 : 0cyclo and C_16 : 1ω7c/iso-C_15 : 02-OH. Based on these results, we describe a novel species of the genus Brenneria with the proposed nameBrenneria populisp. nov. The type strain is D9-5^T( = CFCC 11963^T = KCTC 42088^T).

Exploration of the novel species of the genus Paenibacillus with plant-growth promoting characteristics at the low-temperature environment is of great significance for the development of psychrotolerant biofertilizer in forestry and agriculture. During the course of isolation of root endophytes of Larix gmelinii in the island frozen soil, three strains designated as T3-5-0-4, N1-5-1-14 and N5-1-1-5 were isolated. The three strains showed plant growth-promoting properties at the low temperature, such as phosphate solubilization, indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis and siderophore production. According to pairwise sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA genes, the three strains represent putatively novel taxa within the genus Paenibacillus. The strains have typical chemotaxonomic characteristics of the genus Paenibacillus by having meso-diaminopimelic acid as diagnostic diamino acid, anteiso-C_15:0 as the predominant fatty acid and MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone. The polar lipid profiles of all strains contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylethanolamine. The sizes of the genomes of the stains ranged from 5.66 to 9.07 Mb and the associated G+C contents ranged from 37.9% to 44.7%. Polyphasic taxonomic study including determination of genome relatedness indices revealed that the strains are representatives of three novel species in the genus Paenibacillus. Consequently, isolates T3-5-0-4, N1-5-1-14 and N5-1-1-5 are proposed as novel species for which the names of Paenibacillus endoradicis sp. nov. (CFCC15691^T = KCTC43441^T), Paenibacillus radicibacter sp. nov, (CFCC15694^T = KCTC43442^T) and Paenibacillus radicis sp. nov. (CFCC15710^T = KCTC43173^T), respectively. Moreover, analysis for biosynthetic genes showed that the strains have potential for plant growth-promoting characteristics, plant rhizospheres colonization and low-temperature adaption, most of which are consistent with the results of the bioactivity test.

Two Gram-staining-negative, aerobic, motile, slimy, glossy bacterial strains were isolated from bark tissue of Populus×euramericana. The bacteria grew at 10–37 °C, pH 5–10, with optimal growth at 28–30 °C, pH 6.0–8.0. Both strains grew with 0–3 % (w/v) NaCl. In the maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree, the two isolates formed a distinct branch within the family Phyllobacteriaceae , and they were not closely related to any of the genera within the family Phyllobacteriaceae . The two novel isolates werepositive for oxidase andcatalase activity. The polar lipids profile revealed diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phospholipid, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and five unknown lipids. The major fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c and C16 : 0. The DNA G+C content was 56.4 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, the two strains represent a novel species belonging to a novel genus of the family Phyllobacteriaceae , for which the name Corticibacterium populi gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is 16B10-2-7T (=CFCC 12884T=KCTC 42249T).