Ismet Ara

Pseudosporangium ferrugineum gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the family Micromonosporaceae.

An actinomycete strain 3-44-a(19)(T) was isolated from sandy soil collected in Bangladesh. The strain formed irregular pseudosporangia directly from aggregated spore chains above the rudimentary aerial mycelium. The pseudosporangia developed singly. Each pseudosporangium contained many small, non-motile, spherical, smooth-surfaced spores in chains. Strain 3-44-a(19)(T) contained meso- and 3-hydroxydiaminopimelic acid in the cell wall and MK-9(H(6)) as the major menaquinone and arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, ribose and xylose were present in the whole-cell hydrolysate. The diagnostic phospholipid was phosphatidylethanolamine and iso-C(15 : 0) (24.6 %), C(18 : 1)omega9c (15.5 %), C(16 : 0) (10.6 %), C(18 : 0) (9.4 %), iso-C(16 : 0) (8.6 %) and anteiso-C(15 : 0) (6.0 %) were detected as the major cellular fatty acids. The acyl type of the peptidoglycan was glycolyl and mycolic acids were not detected. The G+C content of the DNA was 73.6 mol%. The chemotaxonomic data indicated that the strain belonged to the family Micromonosporaceae. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence data also suggested that strain 3-44-a(19)(T) fell within the family Micromonosporaceae. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis and characteristic patterns of 16S rRNA gene signature nucleotides as well as morphological and chemotaxonomic data, this strain should be classified as a member of a new genus and species, Pseudosporangium ferrugineum gen. nov., sp. nov., in the family Micromonosporaceae. The type strain of Pseudosporangium ferrugineum is 3-44-a(19)(T) (=JCM 14710(T) =MTCC9007(T)).

Kineococcus gynurae sp. nov., isolated from a Thai medicinal plant.

A novel, Gram-positive, motile, coccus-shaped, orange-pigmented organism, designated strain KKD096(T), was isolated from the roots of a Thai medicinal plant, Gynura pseudochina DC. var. hispida Thwaites. Growth of strain KKD096(T) occurred at temperatures of 14-34 degrees C, at pH 5.0-9.0 and at NaCl concentrations up to 7 % (w/v). Whole-cell hydrolysates contained arabinose and galactose as the characteristic sugars. The diagnostic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The glycan moiety of the murein contained acetyl residues. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H2); mycolic acids were not detected. The genomic DNA G+C content was 73.3 mol%. The major cellular fatty acid was anteiso-C(15 : 0) (81.42 % of the total). Strain KKD096(T) was assigned to the genus Kineococcus on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis; it was most closely related to Kineococcus radiotolerans DSM 14245(T) (97.1 % similarity). DNA-DNA hybridization revealed 39.4 % relatedness between these two taxa. On the basis of the genotypic and phenotypic data presented, strain KKD096(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Kineococcus, for which the name Kineococcus gynurae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KKD096(T) (=TISTR 1856(T)=NRRL B-24568(T)=BCC 26245(T)=NBRC 103943(T)).

Actinomadura bangladeshensis sp. nov. and Actinomadura chokoriensis sp. nov.

The taxonomic position of two soil isolates, 3-46-b(3)(T) and 3-45-a(11)(T), was clarified based on data from a polyphasic study. The organisms showed a combination of chemotaxonomic and morphological properties typical of the genus Actinomadura. They formed distinct phyletic lines in the Actinomadura 16S rRNA gene tree and were closely associated with the type strains of Actinomadura meyerae (sequence similarity of 98.3-98.5 %), Actinomadura napierensis (98.1-98.3 %) and Actinomadura latina (96.4-96.8 %). The level of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the new isolates was 99.1 %. The level of DNA-DNA hybridization between strains 3-46-b(3)(T) and 3-45-a(11)(T) was 43.6 % and levels of relatedness between the two new isolates and the type strains of A. meyerae and A. napierensis were 21.0-27.3 %. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic properties, the new isolates could be differentiated from each other and from their closest phylogenetic relatives. It is proposed that the organisms be classified as representing two novel species of the genus Actinomadura. The names proposed for these taxa are Actinomadura bangladeshensis sp. nov. [type strain 3-46-b(3)(T) =JCM 13933(T) =MTCC8057(T)] and Actinomadura chokoriensis sp. nov. [type strain 3-45-a(11)(T) =JCM 13932(T) =MTCC8056(T)].

Panowamycins A and B, new antitrypanosomal isochromans produced by Streptomyces sp. K07-0010

Two new isochromans, panowamycins A and B, were purified by solvent extraction, silica gel and octadecylsilyl silica gel (ODS) column chromatography followed by preparative HPLC, from a culture broth of Streptomyces sp. K07-0010, together with the known compounds NFAT-133, conglobatin, piericidin C series and dinactin. Structures of panowamycins were elucidated as new analogs of NFAT-133 by spectroscopic studies including various NMR experiments. Panowamycins A and B showed moderate antitrypanosomal activity, with IC50 values of 0.40 and 3.30 μg ml–1, respectively.