Amycolatopsis thailandensis sp. nov., a poly(l-lactic acid)-degrading actinomycete, isolated from soil

Abstract

A novel actinomycete that was capable of degrading poly(l-lactic acid), strain CMU-PLA07T, was isolated from soil in northern Thailand. Strain CMU-PLA07T had biochemical, chemotaxonomic, morphological and physiological properties that were consistent with its classification in the genus Amycolatopsis. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the isolate formed a phyletic line within the genus Amycolatopsis. Strain CMU-PLA07T was most similar to Amycolatopsis coloradensis IMSNU 22096T (99.5 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Amycolatopsis alba DSM 44262T (99.4 %). However, strain CMU-PLA07T was distinguishable from the type strains of species of the genus Amycolatopsis on the basis of DNA–DNA relatedness and phenotypic data. Therefore, strain CMU-PLA07T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Amycolatopsis, for which the name Amycolatopsis thailandensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CMU-PLA07T ( = JCM 16380T = BCC 38279T).