Cellulosimicrobium variabile sp nov., a cellulolytic bacterium from the hindgut of the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis

A novel cellulolytic and xylanollytic bacterium, strain MX5(T), Was isolated from the hindgut contents of the Australian termite Mastotermes darwiniensis (Froggatt). The isolate was a facultative anaerobe and had a Gram-positive cell-wall profile. The rod-shaped bacterium formed irregular coryneform and coccoid cells during growth. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA provided evidence that the organism was closely related to the as-yet undescribed cellulolytic strain SR272 and the non-validly described species 'Cellulomonas pachnodae' as well as Promicromonospora citrea and Promicromonospora sukumoe. Strain MX5(T) was assigned to the genus Cellulosimicrobium on the basis of phyllogenetic and chemotaxonomic criteria. The murein of strain MX5(T) contained the diamino acid lysine. N-Glycolylmuramic acid, mycolic acids and hydroxy fatty acids were absent. The major neutral sugar in the cell wall was galactose and the major quinone was menaquinone MK-9(H-4). The predominant fatty acids were ai-C15:0, i-C15:0, i-C16:0 and C16:0. The G+C content of the DNA was in a range 70-72 mol%. On the basis of 16S rDNA sequence similarities and chemotaxonomic features, MX5(T) was clearly different from Cellulosimicrobium cellulans and other validly described species within this phyllogenetic group. For this reason, a novel species is described, for which the name Cellulosimicrobium variabile sp. nov. is proposed.