Hymenobacter rufus sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from soil.

A bacterial strain, S1-2-2-6T, was isolated from a soil sample collected in Jeollabuk-do province, Republic of Korea. Cells of this strain were observed to be Gram-stain-negative, short and rod-shaped, and colonies were red to pink in colour. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences identified this strain as representing a member of the genus Hymenobacter in the family Cytophagaceae, with the highest levels of sequence similarity being observed in relation to Hymenobacter terrae DG7AT (98.2 %), Hymenobacter rubidus DG7BT (97.9 %), Hymenobacter soli PB17T (97.7 %), and Hymenobacter daeguensis 16F3Y-2T (97.3 %). Growth of S1-2-2-6T was observed at 4-30 °C, pH 6-8 and in the presence of 0-0.5 % NaCl. The predominant respiratory quinone of this strain was menaquinone-7, the major fatty acids were C15 : 0 iso, C15 : 0 anteiso, and Summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c), and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The genomic DNA G+C content of S1-2-2-6T was 60.7 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments with H. terrae, H. rubidus, H. soli and H. daeguensisresulted in relatedness values of 35.9 and 38.4 %, 34.2 and 30.4 %, 28.3 and 33.1 %, and 23.5 and 27.9 %, respectively. These DNA-DNA hybridization results, in addition to some differentiating phenotypic properties, clearly indicate that S1-2-2-6T is a representative of a novel species of the genus Hymenobacter, for which the name Hymenobacter rufus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S1-2-2-6T (=KCTC 52736T=JCM 32196T).

Hymenobacter terrigena sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, rodshaped, aerobic bacterial strain, designated S1-2-2-5T, was isolated from the Jeollabuk-do province, Republic of Korea, and was characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain S1-2-2-5T belonged to the family Cytophagaceae in phylum Bacteroidetes, and was most closely related to Hymenobacter terrae DG7AT (98.2%), Hymenobacter rubidus DG7BT (98.0%), Hymenobacter soli PB17T (97.7%), Hymenobacter daeguensis 16F3Y-2T (97.2%) and Hymenobacter saemangeumensis GSR0100T (97.0%). The G + C content of the genomic DNA of strain S1-2-2-5T was 59.4 mol%. The detection of menaquinone MK-7 as the predominant respiratory quinone, a fatty acid profile with summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c/C16:1ω6c; 32.0%), C15:0 iso (19.0%), and C15:0 anteiso (15.0%) as the major components, and a polar lipid profile with phosphatidylethanolamine as the major component supported the affiliation of strain S1-2-2-5T to the genus Hymenobacter. The DNA-DNA relatedness between strain S1-2-2-5T and H. terrae KCTC 32554T, H. rubidus KCTC 32553T, H. soli KCTC 12607T, H. daeguensis KCTC 52537T, and H. saemangeumensis KACC 16452T were 49.5, 48.2, 34.1, 28.1, and 31.8% respectively, clearly showing that the isolate is not related to them at the species level. Strain S1-2-2-5T could be clearly differentiated from its closest neighbors on the basis of its phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic features. Therefore, strain S1-2-2-5T represents a novel species of the genus Hymenobacter, for which the name Hymenobacter terrigena sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S1-2-2-5T (= KCTC 52737T = JCM 32195T).

Effects of freeze-dried cranberry powder on serum lipids and inflammatory markers in lipopolysaccharide treated rats fed an atherogenic diet.

This study investigated the effects of freeze-dried cranberry powder on anti-inflammation and lipid profiles of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated rats fed an atherogenic diet for 6 weeks. Forty Sprague-Dawley male rats (6-weeks-old) were equally divided into the following five groups: 1) normal diet group + saline (NC); 2) atherogenic diet + saline (HFC); 3) atherogenic diet + LPS (HL); 4) atherogenic diet with 5% cranberry power + LPS (C5); 5) atherogenic diet with 10% cranberry power + LPS (C10). LPS (0.5 mg/kg) was injected into the abdominal cavities of rats 18 hours prior to sacrifice. At the end of the experimental period, we measured serum lipid profiles as well as levels of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), nitric oxide (NO), and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10 as an anti-inflammatory cytokine. The mean serum high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level in C5 rats was significantly higher than that in NC and HL rats (P < 0.05). The mean serum levels of CRP and IL-1ß were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the cranberry powder groups compared to those in HL rats. Additionally, mean serum IL-6 levels tended to be lower in the cranberry groups than that in the HL group, whereas serum IL-10 and NO showed 29% and 88% higher mean values in the C5 group and 49% and 24% higher in the C10 group than those in the HL group, respectively. These results suggest that freeze-dried cranberry powder may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases by modifying serum lipids and the early inflammatory response.