Description of two new thermophilic species of the genus Rubrobacter, Rubrobacter calidifluminis sp. nov. and Rubrobacter naiadicus sp. nov., and emended description of the genus Rubrobacter and the species Rubrobacter bracarensis.
Four isolates, designated, RG-1(T), RG-3(T), RG-6 and RG-8 with optimum growth temperatures around 60°C were recovered from a hot stream near Ribeira Grande on the Island of São Miguel in the Azores. These strains were strictly aerobic, catalase and oxidase positive. The organisms could be divided into two groups; one comprising strains RG-1(T) and RG-6, the other formed by strains RG-3(T) and RG-8, with distinctive phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics. Major fatty acids varied between the groups, but all contained iso-branched components such as iso-C16:0 10-methyl and iso-C17:0 10-methyl. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene shows the strains to cluster with species of the genus Rubrobacter, specifically with Rubrobacter xylanophilus to which they have pairwise sequence similarity in the range of 98.4-98.6%. The DNA-DNA hybridization result show that strains RG-1(T) and RG-3(T) share 72% reassociation. Strains RG-1(T) and RG-3(T) displayed extreme tolerance to desiccation when compared to other species of the genus. Based on genotypic, physiological and biochemical characteristics we describe two new species: Rubrobacter calidifluminis sp. nov., represented by strain RG-1(T) (=CECT 8308(T) =JCM 19154(T)) and Rubrobacter naiadicus sp. nov. represented by strain RG-3(T) (=CECT 8310(T)=JCM 19155(T)). The description of the species Rubrobacter bracarensis[16] is emended to correct the fatty acid composition of these organisms. The discovery of new fatty acids in these species requires emendation of the description of the genus Rubrobacter.
Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: luciana@cnc.uc.pt.
Luciana
L
Albuquerque
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA.
Megan M
MM
Johnson
Leibniz-Institut DSMZ - Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
Peter
P
Schumann
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA.
Fred A
FA
Rainey
Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal; Microbiology Unit, BIOCANT Biotechnological Park, 3060-197 Cantanhede, Portugal.
Milton S
MS
da Costa
D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D000332:Aerobiosis; D001394:Azores; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D045482:Hot Springs / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013696:Temperature
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Actinobacteria; Rubrobacter calidifluminis; Rubrobacter naiadicus