Abstract
A novel bacterial strain, designated YIM 73061
, was isolated from the Cholistan desert in Punjab, Pakistan, and characterized by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed the highest levels of sequence similarity with respect to Phenylobacterium conjunctum FWC21
(97.6 %), Phenylobacterium lituiforme FaiI3
(97.4 %), Phenylobacteriumcomposti 4T-6
(97.0 %) and Phenylobacterium aquaticum W2-3-4
(96.8 %). Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and motile rods that formed orange colonies. The strain was oxidase- and catalase-positive. Growth occurred at 20-40 °C (optimum, 30-37 °C) at pH 5.0-8.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0-0.5 %). The major cellular fatty acids (>10 %) were summed feature 8 (comprising C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c) and C16 : 0. The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylglycerol and four unidentified glycolipids. The major isoprenoid quinone was ubiquinone-10 (Q-10). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 66.8 mol%. Strain YIM 73061
showed low levels of DNA-DNA relatedness to P. conjunctum FWC21
(27.2±2.6 %), P. lituiforme FaiI3
(24.6±1.1 %) and P.composti 4T-6
(18.4±3.1 %). On the basis of phylogenetic inference, chemotaxonomic characteristics and phenotypic data, strain YIM 73061
should be classified as representing a novel species, for which the name Phenylobacterium deserti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 73061
(=DSM 103871
=CCTCC AB 2016297
).