Neobacillus terrisolis sp. nov. and Neobacillus solisequens sp. nov. Isolated from Soil

Two bacterial strains, designated LXY-1^T and LXY-4^T, were isolated from soil samples collected at a heavy metal smelting plant located in Guangxi, China. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these strains formed two distinct lineages within the genus <i>Neobacillus</i>. Both strains were characterized as facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive staining, endospore-forming, non-motile, short-rod bacteria. The major cellular fatty acids identified in these strains included C_16:0, iso-C_15:0, antéiso-C_15:0, and antéiso-C_17:0. The predominant polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG). The average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between the newly isolated strains and their closest phylogenetic relatives, the type strains of the genus <i>Neobacillus</i>, were found to be below 95%, with corresponding digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values remaining below 70%. Based on a comprehensive polyphasic taxonomic analysis incorporating chemotaxonomic, phenotypic, phylogenetic, and genomic data, we proposed that strains LXY-1^T and LXY-4^T represent two novel species of the genus <i>Neobacillus</i>, for which the names <i>Neobacillus terrisolis</i> sp. nov. and <i>Neobacillus solisequens</i> sp. nov. are designated. The type strains are LXY-1^T (= CGMCC 30313^T = JCM 37671^T) and LXY-4^T (= CGMCC 1.62901^T = JCM 37672^T), respectively.