Pseudonocardia ammonioxydans sp nov., isolated from coastal sediment

Actinomycete strain H9(T) was isolated from coastal sediment of the Jiao-Dong peninsula (near Tsingdao city) in China, and was identified by means of polyphasic taxonomy. The strain grew autotrophically on modified nitrifying medium and heterotrophically on Luria-Bertani medium, with NaCl ranging from 0 to 8% (w/v) (optimal growth at 3.5%). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of strain H9(T) to members of the genus Pseudonocardia ranged from 93.0 to 97.5%, indicating that strain H9(T) was phylogenetically related to members of the genus Pseudonocardia. Strain H9(T) had type IV cell wall and type PIII phospholipid, and its major menaquinone was MK-8 (H-4). DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain H9(T) and Pseudonocardia kongjuensis, Pseudonocardia autotrophica and Pseudonocardia compacta were 42, 13 and 11%, respectively. These results support the conclusion that H9(T) represents a novel species within the genus Pseudonocardia, for which the name Pseudonocardia ammonioxydans sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain H9(T) (=CGMCC 4.18777(T)=JCM 124627(T)).