Nocardiopsis mutabilis, a New Species of Nocardioform Bacteria Isolated from Soil

A nocardioform bacterium isolated from soil was studied. On the basis of cell wall composition and physiological characteristics, this organism was placed in the genus Nocardiopsis. This organism differed from the only previously described species of this genus by a number of morphological and biochemical characteristics, including inability to decompose adenine and xanthine, fragmentation in submerged cultures, growth in lysozyme broth, and possession of type PIV phospholipids. It also produced a novel antibiotic, polynitroxin. This organism is regarded as a new species, for which we propose the name Nocardiopsis mutabilis. The type strain of this species is SK&F-AAA025 (= ATCC 31520).