The family Rubrobacteraceae

Abstract

Rubrobacteraceae, a family of the order Rubrobacterales, class Actinobacteria, embraces the genus Rubrobacter with three species: Rubrobacter xylanophilus, R. taiwanensis, and R. radiotolerans (Carreto et al. Int J Syst Bacteriol 46: 460-465, 1996; Chen et al. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 54: 1849-1855, 2004; Suzuki et al. FEMS Microbiol Lett 52: 33-40, 1988). These three species tolerate extremely high levels of ionizing radiation and possess unique straight-chain internally branched fatty acids. Moreover, the species are moderately thermophilic or thermophilic. These organisms have been primarily isolated from hot springs and deteriorated ancient walls or wall paintings. The species R. bracarensis has been effectively published, but the name has not yet been validated.