Nevskia soli sp. nov., isolated from soil cultivated with Korean ginseng.

A Gram-negative bacterium, designated strain GR15-1(T), was isolated from a field cultivated with Korean ginseng. Cells were strictly aerobic, motile with multipolar flagella and rod-shaped. The strain grew optimally at 25-28 degrees C and pH 6.0-7.0. The predominant fatty acids of strain GR15-1(T) were C(18 : 1)omega7c, C(16 : 0) and summed feature 2 (C(14 : 0) 3-OH and/or iso-C(16 : 1) I). The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone 8. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63.9 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis showed that strain GR15-1(T) formed a phyletic cluster with Nevskia ramosa Soe1(T), with a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.8 %. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic features, strain GR15-1(T) represents a novel species within the genus Nevskia, for which the name Nevskia soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GR15-1(T) (=KACC 11703(T) =DSM 19509(T)).

Pseudoxanthomonas yeongjuensis sp. nov., isolated from soil cultivated with Korean ginseng.

A Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming bacterium, motile by means of single polar flagellum and rod-shaped, designated strain GR12-1(T), was isolated from soil of a ginseng field in Yeongju region, Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that this strain is related to members of the genus Pseudoxanthomonas, showing sequence similarity values ranged from 92.3 to 96.2 %. This organism grew at 5-33 degrees C, with optimum growth at 28 degrees C. Strain GR12-1(T) grew optimally in the presence of 0-2 % NaCl. The whole-cell fatty acid profile included iso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(17 : 1)omega9c, iso-C(16 : 0), iso-C(11 : 0) 3-OH and iso-C(17 : 0) as major components. The only isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone 8 (Q-8). The DNA G+C content was 63.4 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, genetic and phylogenetic data, strain GR12-1(T) should be classified as a member of a novel species of the genus Pseudoxanthomonas, for which the name Pseudoxanthomonas yeongjuensis sp. nov. is proposed, with strain GR12-1(T) (=KACC 11580(T)=DSM 18204(T)) as the type strain.

Burkholderia soli sp. nov., isolated from soil cultivated with Korean ginseng.

A polyphasic study was carried out to clarify the taxonomic position of a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from soil cultivated with Korean ginseng in the Eumseong region of Korea. The novel strain, GP25-8(T), grew optimally at pH 6-7, 28 degrees C and 0-1 % NaCl (w/v). The major fatty acids were C(18 : 1)omega7c, summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1)omega7c/C(15 : 0) iso 2-OH) and C(16 : 0) (together representing 71.2 % of the total). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between strain GP25-8(T) and members of the genus Burkholderia ranged from 94.7 to 97.4 %, indicating that this novel strain was phylogenetically related to members of that genus. The novel strain showed the highest sequence similarities to Burkholderia caryophylli ATCC 25418(T) (97.4 %) and Burkholderia phenazinium LMG 2247(T) (97.2 %); the levels of DNA-DNA hybridization with these strains were 28 and 12 %, respectively. These results support the conclusion that strain GP25-8(T) represents a novel species within the genus Burkholderia, for which the name Burkholderia soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GP25-8(T) (=KACC 11589(T)=DSM 18235(T)).

Niastella koreensis gen. nov., sp. nov. and Niastella yeongjuensis sp. nov., novel members of the phylum Bacteroidetes, isolated from soil cultivated with Korean ginseng.

Two novel strains, GR20-10(T) and GR20-13(T), were isolated from soil using R2A medium. The soil sample was collected from a field in the Yeongju region of Korea that was cultivated with Korean ginseng. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that these strains formed a cluster with several uncultured bacterial clones and with Flexibacter filiformis, Flexibacter sancti, Flexibacter japonensis, Cytophaga arvensicola and Flavobacterium ferrugineum (recently reclassified as Terrimonas ferruginea) in the phylum Bacteroidetes. The level of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the two novel strains was 98.9 %. Isolates GR20-10(T) and GR20-13(T) showed the highest sequence similarities to Flexibacter japonensis IFO 16041(T) (91.8 and 91.9 %, respectively) and T. ferruginea ATCC 13524(T) (90.4 and 90.6 %, respectively). The whole-cell fatty acid profiles of the two isolates were similar and their major fatty acids were 15 : 0 iso, 17 : 0 iso 3-OH and 15 : 1 iso G. The major isoprenoid quinone of both strains was MK-7. The G+C contents of GR20-10(T) and GR20-13(T) were 45.8 and 44.3 mol%, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization (57 % DNA-DNA hybridization value) and phenotypic data indicated that strains GR20-10(T) and GR20-13(T) each belong to a separate species. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data and genomic distinctiveness, strains GR20-10(T) and GR20-13(T) represent two novel species in a novel genus in the phylum Bacteroidetes; the names Niastella koreensis gen. nov., sp. nov. (the type species; type strain GR20-10(T)=KACC 11465(T)=DSM 17620(T)) and Niastella yeongjuensis sp. nov. (type strain GR20-13(T)=KACC 11466(T)=DSM 17621(T)) are proposed.

Erysipelothrix inopinata sp. nov., isolated in the course of sterile filtration of vegetable peptone broth, and description of Erysipelotrichaceae fam. nov.

Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison, an isolate that was detected in sterile-filtered vegetable broth was classified as a novel member of the Erysipelothrix line of descent of the Firmicutes. Strain MF-EP02T resembles members of the two species of Erysipelothrix with validly published names, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and Erysipelothrix tonsillarum, in morphology, fatty acid composition, lack of menaquinones in aerobically and anaerobically grown cultures, DNA G+C content and peptidoglycan amino acid composition. Distinct differences in physiological characteristics, however, support the allocation of this isolate to a novel species of the genus Erysipelothrix, for which the name Erysipelothrix inopinata sp. nov. (type strain, MF-EP02T=DSM 15511T=CIP 107935T) is proposed. Members of the Erysipelothrix line of descent are included in the family Erysipelotrichaceae fam. nov.

Radioisotopic, culture-based, and oligonucleotide microchip analyses of thermophilic microbial communities in a continental high-temperature petroleum reservoir.

Activity measurements by radioisotopic methods and cultural and molecular approaches were used in parallel to investigate the microbial biodiversity and its physiological potential in formation waters of the Samotlor high-temperature oil reservoir (Western Siberia, Russia). Sulfate reduction with rates not exceeding 20 nmol of H(2)S liter(-1) day(-1) occurred at 60 and 80 degrees C. In upper horizons (AB, A, and B), methanogenesis (lithotrophic and/or acetoclastic) was detected only in wells in which sulfate reduction did not occur. In some of the wells from deeper (J) horizons, high-temperature sulfate reduction and methanogenesis occurred simultaneously, the rate of lithotrophic methanogenesis exceeding 80 nmol of CH(4) liter(-1) day(-1). Enrichment cultures indicated the presence of diverse physiological groups representing aerobic and anaerobic thermophiles and hyperthermophiles; fermentative organotrophs were predominant. Phylogenetic analyses of 15 isolates identified representatives of the genera Thermotoga, Thermoanaerobacter, Geobacillus, Petrotoga, Thermosipho, and Thermococcus, the latter four being represented by new species. Except for Thermosipho, the isolates were members of genera recovered earlier from similar habitats. DNA obtained from three samples was hybridized with a set of oligonucleotide probes targeting selected microbial groups encompassing key genera of thermophilic bacteria and archaea. Oligonucleotide microchip analyses confirmed the cultural data but also revealed the presence of several groups of microorganisms that escaped cultivation, among them representatives of the Aquificales/Desulfurobacterium-Thermovibrio cluster and of the genera Desulfurococcus and Thermus, up to now unknown in this habitat. The unexpected presence of these organisms suggests that their distribution may be much wider than suspected.

Streptomonospora alba sp. nov., a novel halophilic actinomycete, and emended description of the genus Streptomonospora Cui et al. 2001.

A halophilic actinomycete, strain YIM 90003(T), was isolated from a soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province, China, by using starch-casein agar with a salt concentration of 20 % (w/v), pH 7.0. The strain grew well on most media tested. No diffusible pigment was produced. Aerial mycelium and substrate mycelium were well developed on most media. The aerial mycelium formed short spore chains, bearing non-motile, straight to flexuous spores with wrinkled surfaces. The cell walls of strain YIM 90003(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. Cell-wall hydrolysates contained galactose and arabinose. Menaquinone composition varied with the medium used for cell cultivation; on glucose-yeast extract medium supplemented with 10 % NaCl, the major menaquinone was MK-9(H(4)), while, on vitamin-enriched ISP 2 medium, the major menaquinones were MK-10(H(2)), MK-9(H(8)) and MK-10(H(4)). Phospholipids were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, diphosphatidyl glycerol, methylphosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine and an unidentified phospholipid. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed Streptomonospora salina as the closest phylogenetic neighbour. On the basis of these analyses, strain YIM 90003(T) is a member of the genus Streptomonospora, though its properties do not match the generic description fully with respect to the menaquinone composition and peptidoglycan amino acid. Analyses of mechanically disrupted cell walls of the type species, Streptomonospora salina DSM 44593(T), and strain YIM 90003(T), purified by tryptic digestion and subsequent SDS treatment, revealed the exclusive presence of meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid of peptidoglycan. Thus, the genus description of Streptomonospora, indicating the presence of several amino acids usually not found in the peptidoglycan moiety, is therefore emended. DNA-DNA hybridization and comparison of physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics demonstrated strain YIM 90003(T) to be different from Streptomonospora salina. The name Streptomonospora alba sp. nov. is proposed, with strain YIM 90003(T) (=CCTCC AA001013(T)=DSM 44588(T)) as the type strain.

Reclassification of Desulfotomaculum auripigmentum as Desulfosporosinus auripigmenti corrig., comb. nov.

The species Desulfotomaculum auripigmentum is reclassified as Desulfosporosinus auripigmenti corrig., comb. nov. on the basis of morphological and physiological traits, phylogenetic position and chemotaxonomic properties. Characteristics supplementary to those provided in the original description reveal that the type strain, DSM 13351(T) (=ATCC 700205(T)), forms oval, subterminal to terminal spores, possesses LL-diaminopimelic acid and contains MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone, while the whole-cell methanolysate contains even-carbon, straight-chain saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids and 1,1-dimethylacetals as major components. DNA-DNA reassociation values below 30 % for Desulfosporosinus orientis DSM 765(T) and Desulfosporosinus meridiei DSM 13257(T) demonstrate that strain DSM 13351(T) shows sufficient genomic differences to maintain its species status. Lack of motility, a smaller cell diameter and the ability to use malate and glycerol as electron donors and fumarate and arsenate as electron acceptors are the main properties that differentiate Desulfosporosinus auripigmenti from the other two species of the genus.

Cell wall anionic polymers of Streptomyces sp. MB-8, the causative agent of potato scab.

The cell wall of Streptomyces sp. MB-8 contains a major teichoic acid, viz., 1,3-poly(glycerol phosphate) substituted with N-acetyl-alpha-D-glucosamine (the degree of substitution is 60%), a minor teichoic acid, viz., non-substituted poly(glycerol phosphate), and a family of Kdn (3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2-ulopyranosonic acid)-containing oligomers of the following general structure: [carbohydrate structure: see text]. The composition of the oligomers was established using MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. The present study provides the second example of the identification of Kdn as a component of cell wall polymers of streptomycetes, which are the causative agents of potato scab.

Three novel halotolerant and thermophilic Geobacillus strains from shallow marine vents.

During a polyphasic taxonomic analysis performed on isolates from shallow marine hydrothermal vents of Eolian Islands (Italy), three thermophilic, halotolerant bacilli, designated as strain 1bw, strain 5-2 and strain 10-1, could not be affiliated to any described species. Physiological and biochemical characteristics, membrane lipids composition, mol % G+C content, and phylogenetic relationships determined on the basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, placed these strains within the genus Geobacillus. The three strains were only moderately related to species of Geobacillus and their relatives, members of Saccharococcus. Determination of the relatedness among each other at a higher taxonomic level by DNA-DNA reassociation experiments demonstrated the three isolates to represent three different novel Geobacillus genomospecies. The taxonomic novelty of these three marine strains was substantiated by their physiological properties and by fatty acid patterns that did not match closely those of any Geobacillus type strain. These three novel strains could be of interest to biotechnology because of their ability to produce exopolysaccharides and to adhere on polystirene, characteristics undescribed so far for other Geobacillus species. They are also able to utilise hydrocarbons such as gas oil, kerosene and mineral lubricating oil. Strain 5-2 is tolerant to zinc.