Abstract
A high-G+C Gram-positive, motile, non-spore-forming coccus capable of accumulating significant amounts of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) was isolated from an inefficient biological phosphorus removal activated sludge reactor. The cell wall of strain Lpha5(T) was characterized by the presence of meso-diaminopimelic acid, menaquinone MK-8(H(4)) and a complex fatty-acid pattern consisting of C(16:0) and at least five other major straight-chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Strain Lpha5(T) also had a high G+C content (71.3 mol%). The nearest phylogenetic relative of strain Lpha5(T), based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis, was the high-G+C Gram-positive bacterium Dermatophilus congolensis (similarity value of 94%), of the family Dermatophilaceae, class Actinobacteria. As strain Lpha5(T) was distinct from D. congolensis in its morphological, phenotypical (i.e. its PHA-accumulating ability and fatty-acid profile) and genetic traits (phylogeny and G+C content), it is proposed that strain Lpha5(T) be designated as the type species of a novel genus within the Dermatophilaceae. The name Kineosphaera limosa is proposed for strain Lpha5(T) (=JCM 11399(T)=DSM 14548(T)).