Streptomyces gamaensis sp nov., a novel actinomycete with antifungal activity isolated from soil in Gama, Chad

During an investigation exploring potential sources of novel species and natural products, a novel actinomycete with antifungal activity, designated strain NEAU-Gz11(T), was isolated from a soil sample, which was collected from Gama, Chad. The isolate was found to have morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics typical of members of the genus Streptomyces. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain NEAU-Gz11(T) belongs to the genus Streptomyces with high sequence similarity to Streptomyces hiroshimensis JCM 4098(T) (98.0 %). Similarities to other type strains of the genus Streptomyces were lower than 98.0 %. However, the physiological and biochemical characteristics and low levels of DNA-DNA relatedness could differentiate the isolate genotypically and phenotypically from S. hiroshimensis JCM 4098(T). Therefore, the strain is concluded to represent a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces gamaensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-Gz11(T) (=CGMCC 4.7304(T)=DSM 101531(T)).