- Volume 34, Issue 4, 1984

The transient occurrence during the summer of 1982 of “Planctomyces gracilis” Hortobágyi 1965, originally described as a planktonic fungus, in two eutrophic man-made ponds in Tempe, Ariz., provided the first recorded sightings of this unusual organism in the United States. A comparison of phase-contrast micrographs prepared from Arizona material with archival descriptions and sketches showed agreement in all respects. Transmission electron microscopy suggested that “P. gracilis” is a bacterium rather than a fungus. Notable differences in several traits serve to exclude “P. gracilis” from the Blastocaulis-Planctomyces group of budding and nonprosthecately appendaged bacteria. There was no evidence of multifibrillar appendages or crateriform surface structures in “P. gracilis”; these are major defining characteristics of the Blastocaulis-Planctomyces group. “P. gracilis” is a filamentous and rosette-forming bacterium of unknown taxonomic position.

Two related but recognizably different forms belonging to morphotype V of the Blastocaulis-Planctomyces group of budding bacteria were observed during the summer of 1983 in two eutrophic man-made ponds in Tempe, Ariz. Each of these forms can be assigned to previously described species of the genus Planctomyces; because these forms were not included in the 1980 Approved Lists of Bacterial Names (Skerman et al., ed., Int. J. Syst. Bacterid. 30:225–420), they need to be formally revived. One of these forms (morphotype Vb) is assigned to Planctomyces stranskae (ex Wawrik 1952) sp. nov., nom. rev.; the other form (morphotype Va) is assigned to Planctomyces guttaeformis (ex Hortobágyi 1965) sp. nov., nom. rev. Neither species has been cultivated axenically; hence, both are based on type descriptive material.

The cellular proteins of eight strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and seven strains of Haemophilus aphrophilus were analyzed by two-dimensional electrophoresis and silver staining. The electrophoretic patterns of A. actinomycetemcomitans and H. aphrophilus were so different that distinction between these closely related bacteria could easily be made. There were also minor quantitative and qualitative differences in the protein patterns of strains within both species, enabling, particularly, A. actinomycetemcomitans strains FDC 2097 and FDC Y4 and H. aphrophilus strains ATCC 19415, FDC 626, and FDC 621 to be singled out.

A new species, Rhizobium fredii, is proposed for fast-growing root nodule bacteria isolated from soybeans. The type strain was isolated from a root nodule of Glycine max growing in Honan Province, China, and is designated strain USDA 205 (= ATCC 35423 = PRC 205). This new species is differentiated from currently recognized Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium species by deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization comparisons, plant specificity, generation times, antibiotic resistance, and serology. The strains of R. fredii are differentiated into two proposed chemovars, R. fredii chemovar fredii chemovar nov. and R. fredii chemovar siensis chemovar nov., by deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization tests, growth in the presence of erythromycin (20 μg/ml), final pH of yeast extract-mannitol medium, and serology.

We propose that “Actinobacterium meyeri” be placed in the genus Actinomyces as Actinomyces meyeri. A description of the species is presented. The proposed type strain is strain ATCC 35568 (= Prévot 2477B = VPI 8617).

In contrast to results from a recent study, we found the fatty acid composition of Legionella pneumophila to be distinct from the fatty acid composition of Moraxella anatipestifer. M. anatipestifer contained large amounts (50%) of 13-methyltetradecanoic acid and smaller amounts (5 to 22%) of branched-chain hydroxy acids, whereas L. pneumophila contained 14-methylpentadecanoic acid as the major component (30%), with no or trace amounts (<1%) of 13-methyltetradecanoic and hydroxy acids. Similar fatty acid results were obtained on two different growth media.

The necessity to rename strain ATCC 27377T (T = type strain), Pasteuria ramosa sensu Staley, led Starr and his associates to propose placing this organism in the genus Planctomyces. Morphological and physiological observations, as well as deoxyribonucleic acid base composition and 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid oligomer analyses, clearly showed that strain ATCC 27377T differs significantly from species belonging to the genus Planctomyces. Therefore, we propose that strain ATCC 27377T be renamed Pirella staleyi and afforded the position of the type strain of the type species of the newly created genus Pirella. The generic and species descriptions are emended. The request of Starr et al. (Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 33:666–671, 1983) for the conservation of Pasteuria ramosa is supported.

A review of reports on the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of strains of the spirochete which causes Lyme disease revealed that these organisms are representative of a new species of Borrelia. We propose the name Borrelia burgdorferi for this species. The type strain of B. burgdorferi is strain B31 (= ATCC 35210). In two separate studies the guanine-plus-cytosine content of the deoxyribonucleic acid of the type strain was determined to be 29.0 to 30.5 mol% (thermal denaturation method).

The name Thermus ruber Loginova, Egorova, Golovacheva, and Seregina 1975 is revived for the same organism on which the original description was based. The temperature range for growth on a potatopeptone-yeast extract medium is 37 to 70°C, and the optimum temperature for growth is 60°C. T. ruber is characterized by the production of an intracellular bright red (or occasionally bright orange) carotenoid pigment with an absorption spectrum similar to that of retro-dehydro-γ-carotene (or occasionally neuro-sporaxanthine). The type strain is strain 1258 in the All-Union Collection of Microorganisms, Moscow, USSR.

We propose a revision of the nomenclature of the antigens of group B streptococci.

The status of the new species Actinomyces denticolens was established by deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid homology. The level of homology with Actinomyces naeslundii, Actinomyces viscosus, and Actinomyces howellii was low in each case.

We request an Opinion conserving the name Micropolyspora Lechevalier, Solotorovsky, and McDurmont over Faenia Kurup and Agre. If our proposal is accepted, Micropolyspora faeni (type strain, ATCC 15347) should be cited as the type species of Micropolyspora. We also provide a new description of this genus.

This list contains factual corrections to the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names (2) that have been brought to the attention of the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology. Some of the matters referred to the editors concern taxonomic problems, and enquirers have been advised in such cases to consider referring the matter to the Judicial Commission. The Approved Lists is the new starting document for bacterial names, and it is therefore noted that cases of omission from the Approved Lists of well-established names should be remedied by reviving the names under Rule 28a of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (1).