<i>Geodermatophilus maliterrae</i> sp. nov., a member of the <i>Geodermatophilaceae</i> isolated from badland surfaces in the Red Desert, Wyoming, USA
Abstract
A novel Gram-stain-positive, black-pigmented bacterium, designated as WL48A <sup>T</sup>, was isolated from the surface of badland sedimentary rock in the Red Desert of Wyoming and characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Good growth occurred at 28-32 °C, pH 7-9, and NaCl less than 1% (w/v). Colonies, growing well on International Streptomyces Project media (ISP) 3 and ISP 7, were black and adhering to the agar. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene and draft genome sequences showed that strain WL48A<sup>T</sup> belongs to the family <i>Geodermatophilaceae</i>, forming a distinct sub-branch with <i>Geodermatophilus bullaregiensis</i> DSM 46841<sup>T</sup>. The organism showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 98.8% with <i>G. bullaregiensis</i> DSM 46841<sup>T</sup>. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization value between the genome sequences of strain WL48A <sup>T</sup> and <i>G. bullaregiensis</i> DSM 46841<sup>T</sup> was 51.8%, below the threshold of 70% for prokaryotic species delineation. The chemotaxonomic investigation revealed the presence of galactose, glucose, mannose, xylose and ribose as well as <i>meso</i>-DAP in the peptidoglycan layer. The polar lipid profiles contained phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) phosphoglycolipid, phospholipids and an unidentified lipid. The menaquinone profile consisted of MK-9(H<sub>4</sub>) (98.2%) and MK-9(H<sub>2</sub>) (10.8%). The major fatty acid profile (>15%) comprised iso-C<sub>15 : 0</sub> and iso-C<sub>16 : 0</sub>. Based on phenotypic, genetic and genomic data, strain WL48A<sup>T</sup> (=DSM 116197<sup>T</sup> = NCIMB 15483<sup>T</sup>=NCCB 100957<sup>T</sup> =ATCC TSD-376<sup>T</sup>) merits to be considered as a novel species for which the name <i>Geodermatophilus maliterrae</i> sp. nov. is proposed.