Replacement of the illegitimate name Pleomorpha daqingensis (Wang et al. 2017) Montero-Calasanz et al. 2023 with the oldest legitimate name Geodermatophilus daqingensis Wang et al. 2017 and proposal to attribute this species to Petropleomorpha daqingensis (Wang et al. 2017) Li 2023 comb. nov.

The prokaryotic generic name Pleomorpha Montero-Calasanz et al. 2023 should be considered illegitimate for being a later homonym of the insect generic name Pleomorpha Saunders 1847, which contravenes Principle 2 and Rule 51b(5) of the 2022 Prokaryotic Code. The name Pleomorpha daqingensis Montero-Calasanz et al. 2023 is therefore illegitimate, and a proposal of a replacement name must be made. The author herein proposes to replace it with the oldest legitimate name Geodermatophilus daqingensis Wang et al. 2017 as requested by Rule 54 and then to attribute this species to the new combination Petropleomorpha daqingensis (Wang et al. 2017) Li 2023 comb. nov.

Geodermatophilus daqingensis sp. nov., isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil.

A novel Gram-positive actinobacterium, designated WT-2-1T, was isolated from a sample of petroleum-contaminated soil collected in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, China and characterised using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The optimal growth for strain WT-2-1T was found to be at 25-35 °C and at pH 6.0-9.0 and with 0-4% (w/v) NaCl, forming blackish green-coloured colonies. Chemotaxonomic and molecular characteristics of the isolate match those described for members of the genus Geodermatophilus. The peptidoglycan was found to contain meso-diaminopimelic acid; galactose, glucose and xylose were detected as diagnostic sugars. The main phospholipids were identified as diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol; MK-9(H4) was the dominant menaquinone present. The major cellular fatty acids were identified as iso-C16:0 and iso-C15:0. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain WT-2-1T is a member of the genus Geodermatophilus, with high sequence similarities to Geodermatophilus aquaeductus BMG801T (98.4%), Geodermatophilus saharensis CF5/5T (98.4%), Geodermatophilus bullaregiensis BMG841T (98.3%) and Geodermatophilus normandii CF5/3T (98.3%). Based on the phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic data and DNA-DNA hybridization results, the isolate is concluded to represent a novel species of the genus Geodermatophilus, for which the name Geodermatophilus daqingensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WT-2-1T (=CGMCC 4.7381T = DSM 104001T).