Novosphingobium tardaugens sp nov., an oestradiol-degrading bacterium isolated from activated sludge of a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo

An oestradiol-degrading bacterium isolated at a sewage treatment plant in Tokyo was studied phenotypically, genotypically and phylogenetically. Analysis of its 16S rDNA sequence, DNA base composition, whole-cell fatty acid profile and isoprenoid quinone composition, as well as the presence of sphingoglycolipid, revealed that the isolate is a member of the genus Novosphingobium. However, the sequence similarity of its 16S rDNA to those of known Novosphingobium species was no higher than 97 %, implying that the isolate is distinctive. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization experiments and physiological characterization also indicated that the isolate represents a novel Novosphingobium species, for which the name Novosphingobium tardaugens sp. nov. is proposed; strain ARI-1(T) (=jCM 11434(T) =ATCC BAA-531(T) =IFO 16725(T)) is the type strain.