Citricoccus yambaruensis sp. nov., a racemic phenylsuccinate stereospecifically assimilating actinomycete isolated from soil in Okinawa

Abstract

A bacterial strain, designated PS9T, was isolated from soil in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. The bacterium grew with racemic phenylsuccinate as the sole carbon and energy source. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain PS9T was closely related to Citricoccus muralis, C. alkalitolerans and C. nitrophenolicus with sequence similarities of 97.5, 97.8, and 98.3%, respectively, suggesting that the strain belonged to the genus Citricoccus. Strain PS9T was a Gram-positive, non-motile, circular-shaped and aerobic bacterium. The major respiratory quinone was MK-8 (H2) and the predominant cellular fatty acid was C15:0 anteiso, C17:0 anteiso, and C15:0 iso. The G+C content was 72.4 mol%. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic traits, it was concluded that the organism represents a new species in the genus Citricoccus, with the name Citricoccus yambaruensis. The type strain is PS9T (=NBRC102121T = DSM18783T).