Paracoccus methylutens sp. nov. - a new aerobic facultatively methylotrophic bacterium utilizing dichloromethane

A new Gram-negative, aerobic, asporogenous, nonmotile, colourless, coccoid facultatively methylotrophic bacterium (strain DM12) with the ribulose bisphosphate pathway of C-I assimilation is taxonomically discribed. The organism utilizes dichloromethane, methanol, methylamine, formate, CO2 + H-2 as well as a variety of polycarbon compounds as the carbon and energy sources. Neutrophilic, nonhalophilic and mesophilic. The G+C content of DNA is 67.0 mol%. The major cellular fatty acid is cis vaccenic (c18:1 omega 7). The main quinone is Q-10. The novel isolate resembles the Paracoccus species with respect to morphology and chemotaxonomic characteristics but differs from the known members of this genus by some physiological properties and DNA-DNA relatedness (30-50%). Based on pheno- and genotypic distinctions, the isolate is proposed to represent a new species - P. methylutens sp. nov. with the type strain DM 12 (= VKM B-2164).