Kocuria aegyptia sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from a saline, alkaline desert soil in Egypt

Abstract

A coccoid, non-motile actinobacterium, designated strain YIM 70003T, was isolated from a saline, alkaline, desert-soil sample from Egypt. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism formed a distinct phyletic line within the genusKocuriaand was most closely related toKocuria polarisDSM 14382T(98·6 % sequence similarity) andKocuria roseaDSM 20447T(98·2 %). Chemotaxonomic data, including the Lys–Ala3peptidoglycan type, the presence of phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol as the predominant phospholipids, the presence of MK-8(H2) and MK-9(H2) as the major menaquinones, the predominance of fatty acids ai-C15 : 0and i-C15 : 0and the DNA G+C content, also supported the affiliation of the isolate to the genusKocuria. The low DNA–DNA relatedness withK. polarisDSM 14382T(56·6 %) andK. roseaDSM 20447T(15·5 %) in combination with phenotypic data show that strain YIM 70003Tshould be classified as a novel species of the genusKocuria. The nameKocuria aegyptiasp. nov. is proposed, with strain YIM 70003T(=CCTCC AA203006T=CIP 107966T=KCTC 19010T=DSM 17006T) as the type strain.