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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #338262
Title: Streptomyces asenjonii sp. nov., isolated from arid Atacama Desert soils and emended description of Streptomyces viridosporus Pridham et al. 1958

Author
item GOODFELLOW, MICHAEL - Newcastle University
item BUSARAKAM, KANUNGNID - Newcastle University
item IDRIS, HAMIDAH - Newcastle University
item Labeda, David
item NOUIOUI, IMEN - Newcastle University
item BROWN, ROSELYN - Newcastle University
item KIM, BYUNG-YONG - Seoul National University
item MONTERO-CALASANZ, MARIA - Newcastle University
item ANDREWS, BARBARA - University Of Chile
item BULL, ALAN - University Of Kent

Submitted to: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2017
Publication Date: 6/6/2017
Citation: Goodfellow, M., Busarakam, K., Idris, H., Labeda, D.P., Nouioui, I., Brown, R., Kim, B.-Y., Montero-Calasanz, M., Andrews, B.A., Bull, A.T. 2017. Streptomyces asenjonii sp. nov., isolated from hyper-arid Atacama Desert soils and emended description of Streptomyces viridosporus Pridham et al. 1958. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 110(9):1133-1148.

Interpretive Summary: During a study of microbial biodiversity in soil from the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the most arid locations on earth, several novel strains were isolated and identified as members of the actinobacterial genus Streptomyces. This genus contains over 700 described species, including many that produce medically important antibiotics, requiring that these strains be characterized by assessing morphological, physiological and molecular genetic properties to confirm they represented a single novel species, for which the name Streptomyces asenjonii is proposed. The discovery and characterization of this new species will be of great value to scientists studying microbial ecology in extreme environments and particularly to scientists working in biotechnology and involved in exploration for new sources of useful antibiotics and other metabolites, primarily because the majority of all commercial antibiotics to date are produced by actinobacteria.

Technical Abstract: A polyphasic study was undertaken to establish the taxonomic status of Streptomyces strains isolated from arid Atacama Desert soils. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolates showed that they formed a well-defined lineage that was loosely associated with the type strains of several Streptomyces species. Multi-locus sequence analysis based on five house-keeping gene alleles showed that the strains formed a homogeneous taxon that was most closely related to the type strain of Streptomyces ghanaensis. Representative isolates were shown to have chemotaxonomic and morphological properties consistent with their classification in the genus Streptomyces. The isolates had many phenotypic features in common, some of which distinguished them from S. ghanaensis NRRL B-12104T. On the basis of these genotypic and phenotypic data it is proposed that the isolates be recognised as a new species within the genus Streptomyces, Streptomyces asenjonii sp. nov. The type strain of the species is KNN35.1bT (= NRRL B-65050T). Some of the isolates, including the type strain, showed antibacterial activity in standard plug assays.