- Volume 59, Issue 9, 2009

Two strains of a Gram-negative, helical, haloalkaliphilic bacterium were isolated from Mono Lake (USA). Both strains were mesophilic and grew between 13 and 55 °C, with optimum growth at 35–45 °C. The optimum pH for growth was 9.5. Growth was observed at NaCl concentrations of 0.5–12 % (w/v), with optimum growth at 2 % NaCl. Both isolates were motile by means of bipolar tuft flagella, coccoid body-forming and strictly aerobic. It was concluded that they belong to the same species, based on DNA–DNA hybridization values (95 % DNA relatedness). DNA G+C contents of the novel strains were 52.1 and 52.3 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, both strains were shown to be related closely to the members of the genus Marinospirillum (family Oceanospirillaceae, class Gammaproteobacteria). Sequence similarity of strain v1c_Sn-redT to the type strains of Marinospirillum alkaliphilum, Marinospirillum minutulum, Marinospirillum megaterium and Marinospirillum insulare was 95.0, 92.7, 91.8 and 91.8 %, respectively. Chemotaxonomic data [major ubiquinone, Q8; major fatty acids, C18 : 1(n-7) and C16 : 0] and physiological and biochemical tests supported the affiliation of the novel strains to the genus Marinospirillum as members of a novel species, for which the name Marinospirillum celere sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain v1c_Sn-redT (=LMG 24610T=VKM 2416T).

A spherical-shaped, phototrophic, purple sulfur bacterium was isolated in pure culture from anoxic sediment in a marine aquaculture pond near Bheemli (India). Strain JA142T is Gram-negative and non-motile. It has a requirement for NaCl (optimum of 2 % and maximum of 6 % w/v NaCl). Intracellular photosynthetic membranes are of the vesicular type. In vivo absorption spectra indicate the presence of bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the okenone series as photosynthetic pigments. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JA142T is related to halophilic purple sulfur bacteria of the genera Thiohalocapsa and Halochromatium, with the highest sequence similarity to Thiohalocapsa halophila DSM 6210T (97.5 %). Morphological and physiological characteristics differentiate strain JA142T from other species of the genera Halochromatium and Thiohalocapsa. Strain JA142T is sufficiently different from Thiohalocapsa halophila based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and morphological and physiological characteristics to allow the proposal of a novel species, Thiohalocapsa marina sp. nov., with the type strain JA142T (=JCM 14780T =DSM 19078T).

Bacteria isolated from eucalyptus leaves and shoots showing symptoms of blight and die-back collected in Uganda, Uruguay and Argentina and from maize displaying brown stalk rot symptoms in South Africa were tentatively placed in the genus Pantoea on the basis of phenotypic and biochemical tests. These isolates, together with two strains (LMG 2558 and LMG 2560) previously assigned to Pantoea agglomerans based on protein electrophoregrams but later excluded from this species, were further investigated using molecular techniques. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multilocus sequence analyses (MLSA) revealed that the strains were phylogenetically closely related to Pantoea agglomerans, Pantoea stewartii and Pantoea ananatis. MLSA and amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis placed the strains into four separate clusters, not containing any of the type strains of species of the genus Pantoea. DNA–DNA hybridization confirmed the classification of the isolates into four novel species, for which the names Pantoea vagans sp. nov. (type strain R-21566T =LMG 24199T =BCC 105T =BD 765T), Pantoea eucalypti sp. nov. (type strain R-25678T =LMG 24197T =BCC 076T =BD 769T), Pantoea deleyi sp. nov. (type strain R-31523T =LMG 24200T =BCC 109T =BD 767T) and Pantoea anthophila sp. nov. (type strain LMG 2558T =BD 871T =NCPPB 1682T) are proposed.

Three strains of an unusual hippurate-positive Campylobacter species were isolated at 37 °C from caecal contents of broiler chickens and a turkey. All strains were initially identified as Campylobacter by means of genus-specific PCR, but none was further identified using specific PCRs for known thermophilic species. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA, rpoB and groEL gene sequences revealed that these strains formed a robust clade distinct from other Campylobacter species. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis and whole-cell protein electrophoresis were subsequently carried out and confirmed the divergence between the avian strains and other taxa. These data indicate that the unidentified Campylobacter strains belong to a novel taxon which could be distinguished from other campylobacters through its phenotypic and genotypic characteristics. The name Campylobacter avium sp. nov., is proposed for the novel species, with the type strain 86/06T (=LMG 24591T =CCUG 56292T).

Ten strains of an asexual arthroconidial yeast species were isolated from Bryndza, a traditional Slovak artisanal sheep cheese, which was manufactured from raw milk during a 4-month summer production period at two Slovakian sites (the northern Ružomberok and the central-southern Tisovec areas). Sequence comparison of the D1/D2 domains of the large-subunit rRNA gene revealed that this yeast represents a novel species of the genus Geotrichum, which contains anamorphs of the ascogenous genus Galactomyces, for which the name Geotrichum bryndzae sp. nov. is proposed (type culture CCY 16-2-1T =NRRL Y-48450T =CBS 11176T). The novel species is most closely related to Geotrichum silvicola NRRL Y-27641T, although yeasts with identical or very similar sequences have been found throughout the world.

In this report, we describe three novel asexual basidiomycetous yeast species, Cryptococcus aciditolerans sp. nov. (type strain CBS 10872T =SDY 081T), Cryptococcus ibericus sp. nov. (type strain CBS 10871T=SDY 022T) and Cryptococcus metallitolerans sp. nov. (type strain CBS 10873T =SDY 190T), which were isolated from acid rock drainage collected at the São Domingos mine in southern Portugal. Phylogenetic analysis of molecular sequence data indicated that the novel species belong to the order Filobasidiales of the class Tremellomycetes and form a well-separated clade, next to Cryptococcus gastricus and Cryptococcus gilvescens. Since the novel species also share a peculiar ecology, being able to thrive under extreme environmental conditions characterized by very low pH and high concentrations of heavy metals, we designate this combination of phylogenetic and ecological characteristics as an ecoclade.