Cellulomonas bogoriensis sp. nov., an alkaliphilic cellulomonad

Abstract

An alkaliphilic, slightly halotolerant, chemo-organotrophic, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium, strain 69B4T, was isolated from the sediment of the littoral zone of Lake Bogoria, Kenya. Phylogenetically, it is a member of the genusCellulomonas, showing less than 97·5 % sequence similarity to the type strains of otherCellulomonasspecies. The highest level of similarity, albeit moderate, was found with respect toCellulomonas cellaseaDSM 20118T. Chemotaxonomic properties confirm the 16S rRNA gene-based generic affiliation, i.e. a DNA G+C content of 71·5 mol%, anteiso-C15 : 0and C16 : 0as the major fatty acids, MK-9(H4) as the major isoprenoid quinone, a peptidoglycan containingl-ornithine as the diamino acid andd-aspartic acid in the interpeptide bridge and phosphatidylglycerol as the only identified main polar lipid. The strain is aerobic to facultatively anaerobic, being capable of growth under strictly anaerobic conditions. Optimal growth occurs between pH values 9·0 and 10·0. On the basis of its distinct phylogenetic position and metabolic properties, strain 69B4Trepresents a novel species of the genusCellulomonas, for which the nameCellulomonas bogoriensissp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 69B4T(=DSM 16987T=CIP 108683T).