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Geodermatophilus africanus sp. nov., a halotolerant actinomycete isolated from Saharan desert sand

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Abstract

A novel Gram-strain positive, aerobic, actinobacterial strain, designated CF11/1T, was isolated from a sand sample obtained in the Sahara Desert, Chad. The black-pigmented isolate was aerobic and exhibited optimal growth from 25 to 35 °C at pH 6.0–8.0 and with 0–8 % (w/v) NaCl, indicating that it is a halotolerant mesophile. Chemotaxonomic and molecular characteristics of the isolate matched those described for members of the genus Geodermatophilus. The G+C content in the genome was 74.4 mol%. The peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as diagnostic diaminoacid. The main phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and a minor fraction of phosphatidylglycerol; MK-9(H4) was the dominant menaquinone, and galactose was detected as a diagnostic sugar. The major cellular fatty acid was branched-chain saturated acid iso-C16:0. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed 95.3–98.6 % pairwise sequence identity with the members of the genus Geodermatophilus. Based on phenotypic and chemotaxonomic properties, as well as phylogenetic distinctiveness, the isolate represents a novel species, Geodermatophilus africanus, with the type strain CF11/1T (DSM 45422 = CCUG 62969 = MTCC 11556).

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Acknowledgments

We would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of Agathe Stricker of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, for organizing the collection of the sand samples from which strain CF11/1T was isolated. Jocelyne Favet, Arlette Cattaneo and William J. Broughton of the Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire de Plantes Supérieures (University of Geneva, Switzerland) are acknowledged for their contribution to the isolation of the strain, Bettina Sträubler and Birgit Grün (DSMZ, Braunschweig), for their help in DNA–DNA hybridization analysis and Brian J. Tindall (DSMZ, Braunschweig) for his guidance in chemotaxonomic analyses. M.C. Montero-Calasanz is the recipient of a postdoctoral contract from European Social Fund Operational Programme (2007–2013) for Andalusia and a DSMZ postdoctoral fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute DSMZ—German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstraße 7B, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    María del Carmen Montero-Calasanz, Markus Göker, Gabriele Pötter, Cathrin Spröer, Peter Schumann & Hans-Peter Klenk

  2. IFAPA-Instituto de Investigación y Formación Agraria y Pesquera, Centro Las Torres-Tomejil, Ctra. Sevilla-Cazalla de la Sierra, Km 12.2, C.P. 41200, Alcalá del Río, Sevilla, Spain

    María del Carmen Montero-Calasanz

  3. HZI—Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstraße 7, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    Manfred Rohde

  4. BAM—Federal Institute for Material Research and Testing, 12205, Berlin, Germany

    Anna A. Gorbushina

  5. Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Free University of Berlin, 12249, Berlin, Germany

    Anna A. Gorbushina

  6. Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, 12249, Berlin, Germany

    Anna A. Gorbushina

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  1. María del Carmen Montero-Calasanz
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Correspondence to Anna A. Gorbushina or Hans-Peter Klenk.

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Fig. S1

The parameter “Maximum Height” estimated from the respiration curves as measured by an OmniLog phenotyping device and discretized and visualized as a heatmap using the opm package. Plates and substrates are rearranged according to their overall similarity (as depicted using the row and column dendrograms). Orange colour indicates positive reaction; purple colour indicate negative reaction; white colour indicate ambiguous reaction. Letters (A/B) indicate each replicate of experiment (PDF 61 kb)

Fig. S2

Polar lipids profile of Geodermatophilus africanus sp. nov. CF11/1T, after separation by two-dimensional TLC. Plate was sprayed with molydatophosphoric acid for detection of total polar lipid. DPG, diphosphadidylglycerol; PG, phosphadidylglycerol; PE, phosphatidethanolamine; PC, phosphatidylcholine; PI, phosphatidylinositol; GL, unknown glycolipid; L, unknown lipid (TIFF 277 kb)

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Montero-Calasanz, M.C., Göker, M., Pötter, G. et al. Geodermatophilus africanus sp. nov., a halotolerant actinomycete isolated from Saharan desert sand. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 104, 207–216 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-013-9939-8

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