Cryptosporangium mongoliense sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile actinomycete, strain MN08-A0264(T), was isolated from soil sampled in Mongolia. The isolate formed pale to moderate yellowish brown colonies and branched substrate mycelium. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain MN08-A0264(T) belonged to the genus Cryptosporangium and exhibited 97.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Cryptosporangium aurantiacum IMSNU 22120(T), 97.7 % with C. minutisporangium IFO 15962(T), 97.2 % with C. arvum IFO 15965(T) and 96.8 % with C. japonicum IFO 15966(T). The allocation of the isolate to the genus Cryptosporangium was supported by chemotaxonomic data: menaquinone MK-9(H(6)) with minor amounts of MK-9(H(8)) and MK-9(H(4)), major amounts of iso-C(16 : 0), C(18 : 1)9c and C(17 : 0) 10-methyl, a polar lipid profile comprising phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and glycolipids, and whole-cell sugars glucose, galactose, acofriose (3-0 methylrhamnose), mannose, ribose, arabinose, xylose and rhamnose (trace). DNA-DNA relatedness (5-20 %) differentiated the isolate from its closest neighbours. The physiological and biochemical tests allowed the differentiation of strain MN08-A0264(T) from members of the genus Cryptosporangium. Thus, strain MN08-A0264(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Cryptosporangium mongoliense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MN08-A0264(T) ( = NBRC 105887(T)  = VTCC D9-27(T)).

Herbidospora mongoliensis sp. nov., isolated from soil, and reclassification of Herbidospora osyris and Streptosporangium claviforme as synonyms of Herbidospora cretacea.

A Gram-reaction-positive aerobic actinomycete, designated strain MN08-A0118(T), which produced short chains of non-motile spores on the tips of long sporophores and formed yellow-brown colonies with branched substrate mycelium, was studied in detail to determine its taxonomic position. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses, strain MN08-A0118(T) was grouped into the genus Herbidospora, being most closely related to Streptosporangium claviforme (98.2%), Herbidospora osyris (98.2%), Herbidospora daliensis (98.2%), Herbidospora cretacea (97.9%) and Herbidospora yilanensis (97.4%). Chemotaxonomic data supported allocation of the strain to the genus Herbidospora. MK-10(H(4)) was the predominant menaquinone with minor amounts of MK-10(H(6)), MK-10(H(2)) and MK-9(H(4)); the fatty acid profile contained major amounts of iso-C(16:0), C(17:0) 10-methyl, iso-C(14:0) and iso-C(16:0) 2-OH; the phospholipid profile contained phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine and glucosamine-containing phospholipids; and the whole-cell sugars included ribose, glucose, galactose, madurose and rhamnose (trace). The phylogenetic data, phenotypic and genotypic properties and DNA-DNA hybridization differentiated this strain from its closely related strains, S. claviforme (35-54% DNA-DNA relatedness), H. osyris (39-51%), H. daliensis (3-16%), H. cretacea (34-39%) and H. yilanensis (34-42%). Thus, MN08-A0118(T) represents a novel species of the genus Herbidospora, for which the name Herbidospora mongoliensis sp. nov. is proposed, with MN08-A0118(T) ( = NBRC 105882(T)  = VTCC D9-22(T)) as the type strain. In addition, DNA-DNA hybridization results showed that S. claviforme and H. osyris are synonyms of H. cretacea.

Actinophytocola burenkhanensis sp. nov., isolated from Mongolian soil.

A Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile actinomycete, strain MN08-A0203(T), that formed pale yellow to orange-brown colonies and non-fragmented branched substrate mycelium is described. The strain, which produced very scanty aerial mycelium-like structures and scanty formation of spherical bodies on the aerial mycelium on Bennett's agar medium, was studied in detail to determine its taxonomic position. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies, strain MN08-A0203(T) grouped with the genus Actinophytocola, being most closely related to the type strain of Actinophytocola oryzae (97.8 %). Chemotaxonomic data [menaquinone MK-9(H(4)); iso-C(16 : 0) (27 %), iso-C(15 : 0) (18 %), C(16 : 1) H (8 %), C(16 : 0) 9-methyl (8 %) as major fatty acids; glucose, galactose, ribose, arabinose, mannose, rhamnose and xylose (trace) as whole cell sugars; diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, hydroxyphosphatidylethanolamine and ninhydrin-positive phosphoglycolipids as polar phospholipids] supported allocation of the strain to the genus Actinophytocola. Furthermore, the results of DNA-DNA hybridization of strain MN08-A0203(T) with the type strain of Actinophytocola oryzae revealed that the two strains were genetically distinct from each other. Moreover, physiological and biochemical tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain MN08-A0203(T) from closely related species. Thus, MN08-A0203(T) represents a novel species of the genus Actinophytocola, for which the name Actinophytocola burenkhanensis sp. nov. is proposed, with MN08-A0203(T) ( = NBRC 105883(T)  = VTCC D9-23(T)) as the type strain.

Pseudonocardia mongoliensis sp. nov. and Pseudonocardia khuvsgulensis sp. nov., isolated from soil.

Two actinomycetes, designated MN08-A0270(T) and MN08-A0297(T), were isolated from soil from the area around Khuvsgul Lake, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia, and subjected to phenotypic and genotypic characterization. They produced well-developed, branched substrate hyphae and, similar to closely related species of the genus Pseudonocardia, produced zigzag-shaped aerial hyphae by acropetal budding and blastospores. A comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strains MN08-A0270(T) and MN08-A0297(T) formed two distinct clades within the genus Pseudonocardia and were respectively most closely related to Pseudonocardia yunnanensis NBRC 15681(T) (97.3 % similarity) and Pseudonocardia thermophila IMSNU 20112(T) (97.1 %). Chemotaxonomic characteristics, including cell-wall diaminopimelic acid, whole-cell sugars, fatty acid components and major menaquinones, suggested that the two organisms belonged to the genus Pseudonocardia. Strains MN08-A0270(T) and MN08-A0297(T) could be differentiated from each other and from closely related species of the genus Pseudonocardia by physiological and biochemical characteristics, predominant fatty acids, menaquinones and whole-cell sugar components. Combined with the results of a broad range of phenotypic tests and DNA-DNA hybridization data and phylogenetic analysis, these results support the conclusion that these strains represent two novel species of the genus Pseudonocardia, for which we propose the names Pseudonocardia mongoliensis sp. nov. (type strain MN08-A0270(T)  = NBRC 105885(T)  = VTCC D9-25(T)) and Pseudonocardia khuvsgulensis sp. nov. (type strain MN08-A0297(T)  = NBRC 105886(T)  = VTCC D9-26(T)).

Endophytes as producers of xylanase.

One hundred and sixty-nine endophytic fungi and 81 endophytic bacteria were isolated from 14 plants in total. Among them, 155 fungi (91.7%) and 52 bacteria (64%) were found to produce xylanase. The inside part of plants is a novel and good source for isolating xylanase producers in comparison with soil.

Production of lepidimoide by an endophytic fungus from polysaccharide extracted from Abelmoschus sp.: identification of the product and the organism producing it.

A highly potent allelopathic factor, lepidimoide, was initially extracted from mucilage of germinated cress seeds. Polysaccharide extracted from okra (Abelmoschus esculentum Moench) is considered to have a similar structure to lepidimoide as its repeating unit. We therefore initiated the screening of enzymes capable of degrading okra polysaccharide into lepidimoide from endophytes. We discovered an endophytic fungal strain AHU9748 isolated from Coleus galeatus, which produced an oligosaccharide having similar properties to lepidimoide on thin layer chromatography. The physico-chemical data from ESI-MS, NMR spectra and other analyses also showed the purified product to be identical to lepidimoide. The strain AHU9748 was identified as a fungus belonging to the coelomycetes, closely related to the genus Colletotrichum, based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of the 18S rDNA and ITS region.