Isolation of actinomycetes from the root of the plant, Ophiopogon japonicus, and proposal of two new species, Actinoallomurus liliacearum sp nov and Actinoallomurus vinaceus sp nov.

Actinomycete strains K10-0485(T) and K10-0528(T) were isolated from the roots of Ophiopogon japonicus collected in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences, morphological characteristics and chemotaxonomic data indicated that these strains belonged to the genus Actinoallomurus. Strain K10-0485T showed high similarity of the 16S rRNA gene sequence with A. luridus TT02-15(T) (99.1%), but the DNA-DNA hybridization relatedness values between strain K10-0485(T) and A. luridus TT02-15(T) were below 70%. Three species showed similarities of 16S rRNA gene sequences with K10-0528(T), namely A. spadix JCM 3146(T) (98.0%), A. purpureus TTN02-30(T) (98.0%) and A. luridus TT02-15(T) (97.9%), but all similarity values of the 16S rRNA gene sequences were lower than the boundary value (98.7%) for distinguishing as different species. Based on phylogenetic analyses, DNA-DNA hybridization relatedness and physiological characteristics, the two isolated strains should be classified as two new species in the genus Actinoallomurus, and we propose the names Actinoallomurus liliacearum sp. nov. and Actinoallomurus vinaceus sp. nov. The type strain of Actinoallomurus liliacearum is K10-0485(T) (=JCM 17938(T), BCC 49424(T), NBRC 108672(T)) and that of Actinoallomurus vinaceus is K10-0528(T) (=JCM 17939(T), BCC 49425(T), NBRC 108763(T)). The Journal of Antibiotics (2012) 65, 335-340; doi: 10.1038/ja.2012.31; published online 18 April 2012