Kocuria aegyptia sp nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from a saline, alkaline desert soil in Egypt

A coccoid, non-motile actinobacterium, designated strain YIM70003(T), was isolated from a saline, alkaline, desert-soil sample from Egypt. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism formed a distinct phyletic line within the genus Kocuria and was most closely related to Kocuria polaris DSM 14382(T) (98.6% sequence similarity) and Kocuria rosea DSM 20447(T) (98.2%). Chemotaxonomic data, including the Lys-Ala(3) pepticloglycan type, the presence of phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol as the predominant phospholipids, the presence of MK-8(H-2) and MK-9(H-2) as the major menaquinones, the predominance of fatty acids ai-C-15:0 and i-C-15:0 and the DNA G+C content, also supported the affiliation of the isolate to the genus Kocuria. The low DNA-DNA relatedness with K polaris DSM 14382(T) (56.6%) and K rosea DSM 20447(T) (15.5%) in combination with phenotypic data show that strain YIM 70003(T) should be classified as a novel species of the genus Kocuria. The name Kocuria aegyptia sp. nov. is proposed, with strain YIM 70003(T) (= CCTCC AA203006(T)=CIP 107966(T) = KCTC 19010(T) = DSIM 17006(T)) as the type strain.