Citricoccus alkalitolerans sp nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from a desert soil in Egypt

An actinobacterium, strain YIM 70010(T), which was isolated from a desert soil sample collected in Egypt, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomy study. The organism was alkalitolerant and its optimum growth occurred at pH 8(.)0-9(.)0. The isolate contained chemotaxonomic markers that were characteristic of the genus Citricoccus, i.e. the peptidoglycan type Lys-Gly-Glu (variation A4alpha), the predominant menaquinone MK-9(H-2) and a polar lipid profile consisting of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and two unknown glycolipids. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C-15:0 and iso-C-15:0. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63(.)8 mol%. Strain YIM 70010(T) exhibited a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 99(.)6% and DNA-DNA relatedness value of 56% with Citricoccus muralis DSM 14442(T). The phenotypic characteristics and DNA-DNA relatedness data indicate that strain YIM 70010(T) can be distinguished from C. muralis (DSM 14442(T)). Therefore, on the basis of the polyphasic taxonomic data presented, a novel species of the genus Citricoccus, Citricoccus alkalitolerans sp. nov. (type strain, YIM 70010(T)=CCTCC AA 203008(T)=DSM 15665(T)=KCTC 19012(T)) is proposed.