Gordonia desulfuricans sp nov., a benzothiophene-desulphurizing actinomycete

The taxonomic position of two actinomycetes isolated from soil was established using a polyphasic approach. The organisms, designated 213E(T) and 213F, were found to have chemical and morphological properties consistent with their assignment to the genus Gordonia. Nearly complete sequences of the 16S rDNA genes of the two strains were determined following the isolation and direct sequencing of the amplified genes. The tested strains were found to have identical 16S rDNA sequences and formed a phylogenetic line within the evolutionary radiation occupied by the genus Gordonia that was most closely related to Gordonia rubropertincta DSM 43197(T). However. DNA-DNA relatedness data showed that strain 213E(T) and Gordonia rubropertincta DSM 43197(T) belonged to distinct genomic species. Strains 213E(T) and 213F also shared an identical phenotypic profile which distinguished them from representatives of validly described Gordonia species. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data show that strains 213E(T) and 213F merit recognition as a new species of Gordonia. The name proposed for the new species is Gordonia desulfuricans, for which the type strain is 213E(T) (= NCIMB 40816(T)).