First Report of Anthracnose on Hymenocallis littoralis Caused by Colletotrichum siamense in China.

Spider lily (Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb.) is a widely cultivated horticultural plant worldwide and has ornamental and medicinal value. Spider lily plants were seriously affected by a leaf spot disease in the campus of Guangdong Ocean University and gardens in Zhanjiang city in February 2018 with an incidence of 30 to 100%. Affected leaves usually developed small circular purple spots, which enlarged to oval spots and large irregular spots. The spots were brown at the center, deep purple at the border and surrounded by a yellow halo. Diseased cultivars were collected in Zhanjiang city, Gangzhou city in Guangdong province and and Zhangping city in Fujian province. Symptomatic leaf samples were disinfested with 1% NaOCl, and cultured on sucrose agar (PSA) at 28 °C for one week. Ten single-spore isolates were recovered from PSA medium. Colonies developing on PSA were grayish white with a regular border. Conidia were straight, hyaline with rounded ends, 4.3 to 6.1×12.8 to 32.1µm (n = 50 conidia of each isolate). Fungal mycelia were hyaline, septate, and branched. Conidia were born on a long conidiogenous cell, appressoria were oval, 6.7 to 10.7 × 5.2 to 6.2 µm (n=50). The isolates were morphologically identified as Colletotrichum sp. (Weir et al. 2012). Tests of pathogenicity were performed according to Koch's postulates using three isolates. Fresh wounds were made with a sterile needle on the healthy surface of leaves of H. littoralis at the 4- to 6-leaf stage and each leaf was covered with a piece of cotton drenched with 200 µL of conidial suspension (106 conidia/ml) from each isolate. Control seedlings were inoculated identically except sterile water was used to drench the cotton. Inoculated plants were placed in a moisturizing light incubator at 25℃ and 80% humidity under a 12-h light/dark cycle for 20 days and examined daily to monitor disease symptom development. Small round brown spots were observed at the inoculation sites 3 days after the inoculation. The brown spots developed into large brown lesions 5 days after inoculation. There were no symptoms observed in the water-inoculated plants. A Colletotrichum spp. strain based on morphology was consistently reisolated from leaves lesions fulfilling Koch's postulates. For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA, calmodulin (CAL), Tublin (Tub) and Apmat loci of three isolates were amplified using primer pairs of ITS4/ITS5, CL1C/CL2C, T1/T2 and AM-F/AM-R (Sharma et al. 2015). A phylogenetic tree derived from a neighbor-joining analysis of a concatenated alignment of ITS, CAL, Tub and ApMAT sequences was created. The accession numbers of three isolates GZHLCG, ZJHLCG and FJHLCG used in this study were MW553083, MN540457, MN540458 for ITS, MW553087- MW553089 for CL, MW553090-MW553092 for Tub and MW553084-MW553086 for ApMAT. The sequences of the three isolates were aligned with related species of Colletotrichum (Sharma et al. 2015). Analyses based on concatenated data sets of four genes showed that the sequences had high levels of identity to those of the C. siamense strains. According to both morphological and sequence analyses, the H. littoralis pathogen was identified as C. siamense. There is a report of foliar diseases on H. littoralis caused by Colletotrichum sp. (Tan et al., 2009). To our knowledge, this is the first report of anthracnose on H. littoralis caused by C. siamense in China. Identification of the pathogen provide valuable information for diagnosis and controlling this disease in H. littoralis.

[The changes of ocular bacterial isolates and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility in the past six years].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the changes of ocular bacterial isolates and their susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin and tobramycin in Henan Province in the past six years. METHODS: Retrospective study of ocular bacterial isolates and their in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility test results of Henan Eye Institute in the past six years. RESULTS: A total of 2044 bacterial isolates were classified into 39 kinds in the past six years, which were mainly from the conjunctival sac. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. All kinds of the ocular bacteria had the highest susceptibility to gatifloxacin (92.3%) among the tested drugs. Rods were more sensitive to quinolone drugs than cocci and gram-positive rods were more sensitive to tobramycin than the other types of germs. The drug's susceptibility of the four kinds of quinolone except ciprofloxacin decreased year by year with a decreasing ladder fashion every two years in the susceptibility change of levofloxacin in the past six years, while the susceptibility of tobramycin increased slowly from 2004 to 2008 and then decreased. Staphylococcus epidermidis susceptibility to every drug had the similar trend with the general changes in the past six years, that is, their susceptibility to ofloxacin decreased significantly since 2008, their susceptibility to gatifloxacin and tobramycin reduced significantly in 2009. Although Pseudomonas aeruginosa susceptibility to all the drugs had no significant change, for all gram-negative rods, their susceptibility to the four kinds of quinolone drugs were higher than their susceptibility to tobramycin while their susceptibility to levofloxacin and gatifloxacin reduced significantly as time passed by, especially from the year 2008 to 2009. CONCLUSIONS: The most common ocular bacterial isolates were Staphylococcus epidermidis, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ocular bacterial isolates' susceptibility to gatifloxacin in vitro was significantly higher than to other drugs in every year but decreased significantly in 2009 while their susceptibility to ofloxacin and levofloxacin decreased significantly since 2008. Their susceptibility to tobramycin increased slowly from 2004 to 2008 and then decreased.

Agromyces flavus sp. nov., an actinomycete isolated from soil.

A gram-positive, non-motile strain, designated CPCC 202695(T), was isolated from a soil sample collected from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, north-west China. Strain CPCC 202695(T) contained rhamnose, glucose and galactose in the cell wall as diagnostic sugars and 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, alanine, glutamic acid and glycine in the peptidoglycan. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and two unknown glycolipids. MK-12 was the predominant menaquinone and anteiso-C(15 : 0) (34.2 %), iso-C(15 : 0) (19.8 %), iso-C(16 : 0) (12.7 %) and anteiso-C(17 : 0) (11.1 %) were the major fatty acids. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (94.2-97.1 %) between the isolate and the type strains of recognized species of the genus Agromyces indicated that strain CPCC 202695(T) was a member of the genus Agromyces. DNA-DNA relatedness clearly separated strain CPCC 202695(T) from its closest relatives. The phenotypic and genotypic data demonstrated that strain CPCC 202695(T) represents a novel species of the genus Agromyces, for which the name Agromyces flavus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CPCC 202695(T) ( = KCTC 19578(T)  = CCM 7623(T)).

Geodermatophilus ruber sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of a medicinal plant.

A novel actinobacterial strain, designated CPCC 201356(T), was isolated from a rhizosphere soil sample of the medicinal plant Astragalus membranaceus and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Good growth occurred at 20-32 °C, at pH 7.0-7.5 and with 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl. Colonies on R2A and ISP 2 agar were light red to red, round and lacked aerial mycelium; cells adhered to the agar. The peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. The predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H(4)) and MK-9. Polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and two unknown phospholipids. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C(16 : 0), iso-C(15 : 0) and C(17 : 1)ω8c. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 72.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain CPCC 201356(T) belonged to the family Geodermatophilaceae and consistently formed a distinct sub-branch with Geodermatophilus obscurus DSM 43160(T). The organism showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.7 % with G. obscurus DSM 43160(T). DNA-DNA hybridization between strain CPCC 201356(T) and G. obscurus DSM 43160(T) was 17.4 %. On the basis of evidence from this polyphasic taxonomic study, a novel species, Geodermatophilus ruber sp. nov., is proposed; the type strain is CPCC 201356(T) (=DSM 45317(T) =CCM 7619(T)).

[Comparative research of the efficacy of the gatifloxacin and levofloxacin for bacterial conjunctivitis in human eyes].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the different efficacy and safety to the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis between the fluoroquinolone antibiotics gatifloxacin and levofloxacin. METHODS: A multi-centre, random, double-blind and control trial was performed in six centers including Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, Henan Eye Institute, Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical College, the First Affiliated Hospital Of Nanjing Medical University, Xijing Hospital Affiliated to the Fourth Military Medical University, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University between August 2006 and October 2007. The levofloxacin was set as the efficient control. Two hundred and thirty-five patients (235 eyes) that diagnosed as bacterial conjunctivitis were randomly divided into two groups by the method of randomized blocks, the test group (gatifloxacin) had 118 eyes and the control (levofloxacin) group had 117 eyes. The drug delivery into conjunctival sac was performed at a 7-day period (two drops per time, eight times per day at the first two days and two drops per time, four times per day at the following 5 days). All participants were given the conjunctival sac germ culture and drug sensitive test before and after the study. The combination score of signs and symptoms and evaluation of safety were conducted at the pre-delivery day, the (4 ± 1) and (7 ± 1) delivery day. The statistic analysis was conducted by CMH χ(2) test, Pearson χ(2) test and Fisher's exact probabilities test. RESULTS: The efficacy of the two groups was 94.0% (110/117 eyes) in gatifloxacin group and 93.8% (106/113 eyes) in levofloxacin group with no significant difference (χ(2) = 0.052, P = 0.8201). There was also no difference in the bacteria clearance between the two groups [gatifloxacin versus levofloxacin, 94.1% (80/85 eyes) versus 92.5% (74/80 eyes), P = 0.3470]. The decrease of combination score of signs and symptoms at the (4 ± 1) delivery day was 4.436 ± 2.310 in the gatifloxacin group and 3.814 ± 1.962 in the levofloxacin group, the difference of which was significant (F = 7.280, P = 0.0075). This trend was also proved at the (7 ± 1) delivery day (gatifloxacin versus levofloxacin, 7.487 ± 2.821 versus 6.912 ± 2.911, F = 4.060, P = 0.0452). The visual acuity and the tolerance after local application of the eye drops between the two groups had no difference (the visual acuity F = 1.04, P = 0.3080; the tolerance after local admission χ(2) = 0.1372, P = 0.7111). According to the result of the germ culture, the major pathogenic bacteria were Gram-positive bacteria (totally 20 kinds of Gram-positive bacteria and 8 kinds of Gram-negative bacteria). The MIC and drug resistance of gatifloxacin to the Gram-positive bacteria was lower than that of the levofloxacin (Staphylococcus Epidermidis, Staphylococcus Aureus, coagulase negative Staphylococcus, α-hemolytic Streptococcus). CONCLUSIONS: The gatifloxacin eye drop has a good therapeutic effect to the bacterial conjunctivitis. It can effectively clear the pathogen with fast and strong effect. Moreover, it has a low MIC in vitro, advance a prospect in drug resistance, safety and ocular tolerance.

Diversity of culturable actinobacteria from Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China.

To investigate the diversity of culturable actinobacteria and further screen for microbial pharmaceutics, seven different media were chosen to isolate actinobacteria from 87 soil samples collected from Qinghai-Tibet plateau. A total of 1930 strains was isolated and identified to belong to 11 suborders, i.e., Actinopolysporineae, Corynebacterineae, Frankineae, Glycomycineae, Kineosporiineae, Micrococcineae, Micromonosporineae, Propionibacterineae, Pseudonocardineae, Streptomycineae and Streptosporangineae, and 16 families, i.e., Nocardioidaceae, Actinopolysporaceae, Actinosynnemataceae, Dermacoccaceae, Geodermatophilaceae, Glycomycetaceae, Kineosporiaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Micromonosporaceae, Nocardiaceae, Promicromonosporaceae, Propionibacteriaceae, Pseudonocardiaceae, Streptomycetaceae, Streptosporangiaceae and Thermomonosporaceae. A primary taxonomic study showed that at least 22 genera of actinobacteria were identified from the soil samples, among which ten isolates represented hitherto unknown species. The results showed that there was abundant actinobacterial species diversity in the soil samples from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Substituted benzothiophene or benzofuran derivatives as a novel class of bone morphogenetic protein-2 up-regulators: synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and preventive bone loss efficacies in senescence accelerated mice (SAMP6) and ovariectomized rats.

In this work, substituted benzothiophene and benzofuran compounds were found to be a new class of potential anabolic agents by enhancing BMP-2 expression. A series of benzothiophene and benzofuran derivatives have been synthesized, and their activities of up-regulating BMP-2 and bone loss prevention efficacies in SAMP6 mice and OVX rats have been studied. Benzothiophenes 1, 3, 14, 4a, 7a, 8a, and benzofuran analogue 2 showed higher BMP-2 up-regulation rates in vitro. Compound 8a was found to significantly affect the bone formation rate of tested SAMP6 mice. Compound 1 showed an improved bone quality in SAMP6 mice and also showed activity in OVX rats. We have demonstrated that substituted benzothiophene and benzofuran derivatives, especially compounds 1 and 8a, enhance BMP-2 expression in vitro and in vivo and stimulate bone formation and trabecular connectivity restoration in vivo. The compounds represent potential leads in the development of a new class of anabolic agents.

Amycolatopsis xylanica sp. nov., isolated from soil.

An actinomycete, designated CPCC 202699(T), was isolated from soil in Qinghai province, China, and its taxonomic status was established. Strain CPCC 202699(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in its peptidoglycan, arabinose and galactose as the diagnostic sugars in whole-cell hydrolysates, a phospholipid pattern consisting mainly of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine, MK-9(H(4)) as the predominant menaquinone and iso-C(16 : 0) (18.8 %), iso-C(15 : 0) (18.1 %), iso-C(14 : 0) (14.2 %), C(16 : 1) cis9 (10.9 %) and C(17 : 1) cis9 (10.3 %) as the major fatty acids. In the phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain CPCC 202699(T) formed a separate branch within the genus Amycolatopsis. However, strain CPCC 202699(T) showed low 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (<97.0 %) with type strains of species with validly published names in the genus Amycolatopsis. On the basis of genotypic and phenotypic differences from the closest phylogenetic neighbours of strain CPCC 202699(T), a novel species, Amycolatopsis xylanica sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is CPCC 202699(T) (=DSM 45285(T) =KCTC 19581(T) =CCM 7627(T)).

Actinopolymorpha cephalotaxi sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from rhizosphere soil of the plant Cephalotaxus fortunei.

An actinomycete, strain I06-2230(T), was isolated from rhizosphere soil of the plant Cephalotaxus fortunei, collected from Yunnan province, south China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate belongs to the genus Actinopolymorpha. Cells grew on agar surfaces, with no penetration even after prolonged cultivation. Aerial hyphae were absent. Cells were irregularly shaped and remained attached as chains or aggregates. Chemotaxonomic data, which showed ll-diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall, glucose as the whole-cell sugar, type PI phospholipids and MK-9(H4) as the predominant menaquinone, supported the affiliation of strain I06-2230(T) to the genus Actinopolymorpha. The major fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0), iso-C(16 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 1) H. The genomic DNA G+C content was 69.3 mol%. DNA-DNA hybridization data, in combination with chemotaxonomic, physiological and biochemical data, demonstrated that strain I06-2230(T) should be classified as representing a novel species of the genus Actinopolymorpha. The name Actinopolymorpha cephalotaxi sp. nov. is proposed, with strain I06-2230(T) (=DSM 45117(T)=CCM 7466(T)=KCTC 19293(T)) as the type strain.

Alloactinosynnema album gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Actinosynnemataceae isolated from soil.

The taxonomic position of a Gram-stain-positive, aerobic strain, designated 03-9939(T), isolated from a soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province, China, was established using a polyphasic approach. Whole-cell hydrolysates of strain 03-9939(T) contained galactose and ribose as diagnostic sugars and meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diamino acid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H4). The phospholipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine. The major fatty acids were iso-C(16 : 0) (61.5 %) and iso-C(16 : 1) H (11.6 %). The genomic DNA G+C content was 68.2 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain 03-9939(T) should be placed within the family Actinosynnemataceae, in which the strain formed a distinct lineage. Signature nucleotides in the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the strain contained a genus-specific diagnostic nucleotide signature pattern. The combination of phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic data supported the conclusion that strain 03-9939(T) represents a novel species in a new genus of the family Actinosynnemataceae, for which the name Alloactinosynnema album gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. Strain 03-9939(T) (=DSM 45114(T) =KCTC 19294(T) =CCM 7461(T)) is the type strain of Alloactinosynnema album.

Actinoplanes sichuanensis sp. nov. and Actinoplanes xinjiangensis sp. nov.

Two motile actinomycetes, designated strains 03-723(T) and 03-8772(T), which had potent inhibitory activity against Enterococcus faecium peptide deformylase and several clinical Gram-positive, antibiotic-resistant strains, were isolated from two soil samples collected from Sichuan Province and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, respectively. The taxonomic status of these two organisms was established by using a polyphasic approach. The taxonomic data were consistent with the assignment of the strains to the genus Actinoplanes. The neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the two isolates formed a branch with the type strains of Actinoplanes lobatus, Actinoplanes auranticolor, Actinoplanes capillaceus, Actinoplanes campanulatus and Actinoplanes philippinensis in the clade of Actinoplanes species. This branching pattern was also supported by the tree constructed with the maximum-parsimony method. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strains 03-723(T) and 03-8772(T) and their phylogenetic neighbours ranged from 98.0 to 98.8 % and 97.4 to 98.1 %, respectively. However, the two strains shared low levels of DNA-DNA relatedness with the type strains of closely related Actinoplanes species and were readily distinguished by using a combination of phenotypic properties. Therefore, it is proposed that strains 03-723(T) and 03-8772(T) represent two novel species of the genus Actinoplanes, for which the names Actinoplanes sichuanensis sp. nov. (type strain 03-723(T)=KCTC 19460(T)=CCM 7526(T)) and Actinoplanes xinjiangensis sp. nov. (type strain 03-8772(T)=KCTC 19461(T)=CCM 7527(T)) are proposed.

Synthesis and evaluation of 1-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)ethanone analogues as novel anti-osteoporosis agents acting on BMP-2 promotor.

A novel series of 1-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)ethanone analogues were prepared and evaluated for enhancing BMP-2 expression. Compounds 1-5, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 16, with upregulation rate values of 35.6%, 27.9%, 39.8%, 32.0%, 37.1%, 30.2%, 28.0%, 33.5%, 22.8% and 27.3% in vitro, respectively, at a concentration of 4muM, exhibited potent effect for enhancing BMP-2 expression. We also found that compounds 1 and 12 produced a dose-dependent increase on bone histology and histomorphometry, and effectively reduced bone defects induced by ovariectomy in an ovariectomized rat model (OVX).

Gene-specific silencing induced by parallel complementary RNA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

To investigate whether parallel complementary RNA (pRNA) could induce gene-specific silencing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pRNA of the mexA gene was expressed in it. Compared to the control strains, the strain expressing pRNA of mexA showed a 50% decrease in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of several antimicrobial agents and a twofold increase in the initial accumulation rate of ethidium bromide, all of which are substrates of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump. These results suggest that gene-specific silencing was induced by pRNA. This is the first time that such a route for gene silencing has been reported in a bacterium other than Escherichia coli. Gene-specific silencing induced by pRNA may be useful as a novel biotechnology tool for gene regulation in prokaryotes.

Nocardia jinanensis sp. nov., an amicoumacin B-producing actinomycete.

A novel actinomycete, strain 04-5195(T), that produces amicoumacin B, which targets bone morphogenetic protein-2, was isolated from a soil sample collected in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Strain 04-5195(T) had morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic properties that were consistent with its classification in the genus Nocardia and it formed a phyletic line in the Nocardia 16S rRNA gene tree. It was evident from the phylogenetic data that strain 04-5195(T) was most closely associated with Nocardia speluncae N2-11(T). However, the two organisms were distinguishable from one another using DNA-DNA relatedness and phenotypic data. The isolate was readily differentiated from other related Nocardia strains by a set of phenotypic properties and by its phylogenetic position. Therefore, it is proposed that the isolate represents a novel species in the genus Nocardia, Nocardia jinanensis sp. nov.; the type strain is 04-5195(T) (=CGMCC 4.3508(T) =DSM 45048(T)).

Roseomonas vinacea sp. nov., a Gram-negative coccobacillus isolated from a soil sample.

Strain CPCC 100056(T), which was isolated from a soil sample collected from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The organism was coccobacillus-shaped, non-motile and formed vinaceous colonies on ISP2 agar medium. The respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10. The major fatty acids were C(18:1)omega7c and C(16:1)omega7c and/or C(16:1)omega6c. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 67.3 mol%. A comparison of sequences in GenBank revealed that strain CPCC 100056(T) exhibited highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (84.5-95.5%) with Roseomonas species. Strain CPCC 100056(T) could be distinguished from all Roseomonas species with validly published names by differences in phenotypic and genotypic properties. In view of the combined phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, strain CPCC 100056(T) should be classified as a representative of a novel species in the genus Roseomonas, Roseomonas vinacea sp. nov.; the type strain is CPCC 100056(T) (=KCTC 22045(T) =CCM 7468(T)).

Nesterenkonia halophila sp. nov., a moderately halophilic, alkalitolerant actinobacterium isolated from a saline soil.

A Gram-positive, non-motile, moderately halophilic, alkalitolerant actinobacterium, designated strain YIM 70179(T), was isolated from a saline soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province, north-west China, and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The cell-wall peptidoglycan type of strain YIM 70179(T) was A4alpha, l-Lys-Gly-l-Glu. Cells of the isolate contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and an unknown glycolipid, MK-8 as major menaquinone and anteiso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 0) as major fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 68.4 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain YIM 70179(T) fell within the radiation of species of the genus Nesterenkonia. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain YIM 70179(T) and the type strains of recognized Nesterenkonia species were below 97 %, except to Nesterenkonia halobia DSM 20541(T) (99.6 %), but these two strains exhibited a low level of DNA-DNA relatedness (18.4 %). Based on genetic and phenotypic evidence, it is proposed that strain YIM 70179(T) represents a novel species of the genus Nesterenkonia, for which the name Nesterenkonia halophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 70179(T) (=DSM 16378(T) =KCTC 19048(T)).

Saccharopolyspora antimicrobica sp. nov., an actinomycete from soil.

Three Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile, non-acid-alcohol-fast strains, designated I05-00051, I05-00074T and I03-00808, were isolated from different soil samples in Beijing and Sichuan, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed that these three isolates represented the same genospecies. These three strains showed <97.0 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strains of recognized species of the genus Saccharopolyspora, with the exception of Saccharopolyspora hirsuta subsp. hirsuta DSM 43463T (98.1 % gene sequence similarity) and Saccharopolyspora spinosa DSM 44228T (98.0 % similarity). Chemotaxonomic data, including meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid, arabinose and galactose as predominant sugars, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0 as major fatty acids, MK-9(H4) as predominant menaquinone and polar lipids dominated by diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol, supported the affiliation of these three organisms to the genus Saccharopolyspora. The genomic DNA G+C contents of the three isolates were 68.2-69.9 mol%. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization experiments among these three isolates and S. hirsuta subsp. hirsuta DSM 43463T and S. spinosa DSM 44228T, in combination with chemotaxonomic and physiological data, demonstrated that the three new isolates represent a novel species of the genus Saccharopolyspora, for which the name Saccharopolyspora antimicrobica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is I05-00074T (=CCM 7463T=KCTC 19303T).

Salinicoccus luteus sp. nov., isolated from a desert soil.

A moderately halophilic bacterium, strain YIM 70202(T), was isolated from a desert soil sample collected from Egypt and was subjected to a taxonomic investigation. In a phylogenetic dendrogram based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain YIM 70202(T) was affiliated to the Salinicoccus clade, showing 94.5-96.8 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the recognized species of the genus Salinicoccus, in which Salinicoccus roseus CCM 3516(T) was the nearest neighbour. The DNA-DNA relatedness value of the novel isolate with S. roseus CCM 3516(T) was 12.7 %. The novel isolate grew at temperatures between 4 and 45 degrees C and at pH values ranging from 7.0 to 11.0, with an optimum of 30 degrees C and pH 8.0-9.0, respectively. Strain YIM 70202(T) grew optimally in the presence of 10 % NaCl (w/v) and growth was observed at NaCl concentrations in the range 1-25 % (w/v). Chemotaxonomic data revealed that strain YIM 70202(T) contained MK-6 as the predominant respiratory quinone, possessed L-Lys-Gly(5) as the cell-wall peptidoglycan, had phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and an unknown glycolipid as the polar lipids and contained i-C(15 : 0) and ai-C(15 : 0) as the predominant fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 49.7 mol%. The biochemical and chemotaxonomic properties demonstrate that strain YIM 70202(T) represents a novel species of the genus Salinicoccus. The name Salinicoccus luteus sp. nov. is proposed with strain YIM 70202(T) (=CGMCC 1.6511(T)=KCTC 3941(T)) as the type strain.

Streptomyces emeiensis sp. nov., a novel streptomycete from soil in China.

An actinomycete, strain 4776(T), was isolated from soil collected from Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province, China. The taxonomic status of this strain was established using a polyphasic approach. The organism was found to have morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics typical of streptomycetes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the novel isolate belongs to the genus Streptomyces and consistently falls into a clade together with Streptomyces prasinopilosus DSM 40098(T), Streptomyces prasinus JCM 4603(T), Streptomyces bambergiensis DSM 40590(T), Streptomyces hirsutus DSM 40095(T) and Streptomyces cyanoalbus DSM 40198(T). However, DNA-DNA relatedness and phenotypic data distinguished strain 4776(T) from these phylogenetically related type strains. It is therefore concluded that strain 4776(T) (=CGMCC 4.3504(T)=DSM 41884(T)) represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces emeienseis sp. nov. is proposed.

Zhihengliuella halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Micrococcaceae.

The actinobacterial strain YIM 70185(T) was isolated from a saline soil sample collected from Qinghai province, north-west China, and subjected to a taxonomic investigation. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed 93.5-96.4 % similarity to members of related genera in the family Micrococcaceae. In the phylogenetic dendrogram based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain YIM 70185(T) formed a separate clade next to the genera Micrococcus and Citricoccus within the family Micrococcaceae. The peptidoglycan type was A4alpha, l-lys-l-ala-l-Glu. Cell-wall sugars contained glucose and tyvelose. The polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, an unknown phospholipid and an unknown glycolipid. The menaquinones were MK-9, MK-10 and MK-8 (molar ratio 5 : 2 : 1). The major fatty acids were ai-C(15 : 0) and i-C(15 : 0) and the DNA G+C content was 66.5 mol%. These chemotaxonomic profiles supported the assignment of strain YIM 70185(T) to a novel genus within the family Micrococcaceae. The name Zhihengliuella halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Zhihengliuella halotolerans is YIM 70185(T) (=DSM 17364(T)=KCTC 19085(T)).