THE PHYLOGENETIC POSITION OF PSEUDOAMYCOLATA-HALOPHOBICA (AKIMOV ET-AL 1989) AND A PROPOSAL TO RECLASSIFY IT AS PSEUDONOCARDIA-HALOPHOBICA

The genus Pseudoamycolata was proposed for actinomycetes which closely resembled Amycolata species in most phenotypic features but lacked a key chemotaxonomic marker, phosphatidylcholine. We sequenced the 16S ribosomal DNA of Pseudoamycolata halophobica and found that this organism is very closely related to the genus Pseudonocardia, which now contains all of the strains formerly classified as members of the genus Amycolata. In light of these data, we believe that the absence of a single chemical characteristic is not sufficient to justify forming a new genus, and we propose that Pseudomycolata halophobica (Akimov et al. 1989) should be reclassified as Pseudonocardia halophobica. The type strain is strain DSM 43089.