Methylobacillus methanolivorans sp nov., a novel non- pigmented obligately methylotrophic bacterium

Three strains of obligately methylotrophic Betaproteobacteria (Z(T), SP and M3) with the ribulose monophosphate pathway of C1 assimilation are described. The isolates were strictly aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, asporogenous, motile (strains Z(T) and M3) or non-motile (strain SP) rods that multiplied by binary fisson, and were mesophilic and neutrophilic. All three strains utilized methanol but only strains SP and M3 utilized methylamine as carbon and energy sources. The prevailing cellular fatty acids were straight-chain saturated C-16 : 0 and unsaturated C-16 : 1 omega 7c acids. The major ubiquinone was Q-8. The predominant phospholipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin. Ammonia was assimilated by glutamate dehydrogenase. The DNA G+ C contents of strains Z(T), SP and M3 were 51.0, 52.0 and 52.0 mol% (T-m), respectively. Levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the three strains were very high (99.9-100 %), and they shared high levels of DNA-DNA relatedness (88-98 %). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and DNA-DNA relatedness (19-30 %) with the type strains of the genus Methylobacillus, the novel isolates Z(T), SP and M3 are classified as representing a novel species of this genus, for which the name Methylobacillus methanolivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Z(T) (= VKM B-3037(T) = JCM 31401(T) = CCUG 68999(T)).