Vogesella mureinivorans sp. nov., a peptidoglycan-degrading bacterium from lake water

A novel, non-pigmented, rod-shaped, Gram-negative strain was isolated from mesotrophic lake water in Zealand, Denmark. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the bacterium, designated strain 389(T), indicated that the strain belonged to the genus Vogesella and formed a monophyletic group with Vogesella perlucida DS-28(T) (99.1 % nucleotide similarity); it was less related to Vogesella indigofera ATCC 19706(T) (96.9 % similarity) and Vogesella lacus LMG 24504(T) (96.8 % similarity). Hybridization of DNA from strain 389(T) and V. perlucida demonstrated a reassociation of 50.6 ± 9.6 %. The DNA G+C content of strain 389(T) was 61.2 mol%. The fatty acid profile of the strain differed from those of the other strains representing the genus Vogesella by a high content of C₁₆:₁ω7c and/or iso-C₁₅:₀ 2-OH (71.6 %) and a lower content of C₁₆: ₀. Strain 389(T) was capable of degrading peptidoglycan and had chitinase and lysozyme activities, possibly associated with the degradation of peptidoglycan, and had capacity for degradation of several other polymer compounds. Based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, strain 389(T) represents a novel species, for which we propose the name Vogesella mureinivorans sp. nov. The type strain is 389(T) (=DSM 21247(T) =LMG 25302(T)).