Description of two novel species, Sphingomonas abaci sp nov and Sphingomonas panni sp nov.

Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacterial strains designated C42(T) and C52(T) were isolated in the Medical Clinic for Small Animals and Ungulates at the University for Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, both strains were shown to belong to the genus Sphingomonas. Strain C42(T) showed the greatest levels of sequence similarity with Sphingomonas melonis DSM 14444(T) and Sphingomonas aquatilis KCTC 2881(T) (both 97(.)7%). Strain C52(T) showed the greatest levels of sequence similarity with Sphingomonas koreensis KCTC 2882(T) (97(.)2%), Sphingomonas aquatilis KCTC 2881(T) (97(.)1%) and S. melonis DSM 14444(T) (97(.)0%). The presence of Q-10 as the main ubiquinone, the predominance of the compound sym-homospermidine in the polyamine patterns, the presence of a Sphingomonadaceae-specific sphingoglycolipid in the polar lipid patterns, the presence of the fatty acid 2-OH C-14:0 and the lack of 3-hydroxy fatty acids supported the identification of the two novel strains as members of the genus Sphingomonas sensu stricto. Unique physiological characteristics, protein patterns, quantitative differences in their fatty acid profiles and the results of genomic fingerprinting and DNA-DNA hybridizations differentiated strains C42(T) and C52(T) from closely related Sphingomonas species. Hence, the two strains are described as novel species of the genus Sphingomonas sensu stricto. The names Sphingomonas abaci sp. nov. (type strain C42(T)=LMG 21978(T)=DSM 15867(T)) and Sphingomonas panni sp. nov. (type strain C52(T)=LMG 21979(T)=DSM 15761(T)) are proposed.