Racemicystis persica sp. nov., a myxobacterium from soil

A novel myxobacterium, strain MSr11462T, was isolated in 2015 from a soil sample collected form Kish Island beach, Persian Gulf, Iran. It displayed general myxobacterial features like Gram-negative staining, rod-shaped vegetative cells, gliding on solid surfaces, microbial lytic activity, fruiting-body-like aggregates and myxospore-like structures. The strain was mesophilic, aerobic and showed a chemoheterotrophic mode of nutrition. It was resistant to many antibiotics like gentamycin, polymyxin, fusidic acid and trimethoprim, and the key fatty acids of whole-cell hydrolysates were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0, iso-C17 : 0, C18 : 1, iso-C17 : 1 2-OH, C18 : 1 2-OH, iso-C15 : 0 OAG (O-alkylglycerol) and C16 : 1 OAG. The 16S rRNA gene sequence showed highest similarity (98.6 %) to Racemicystis crocea strain MSr9521T (GenBank accession no. KT591707). The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) spectroscopy data supports a novel species of the family Polyangiaceae and the genus Racemicystis. DNA-DNA hybridization showed only about 50 % similarity between the novel strain and the phylogenetically closest species, Racemicystis. crocea MSr9521T. On the basis of a comprehensive taxonomic study, we propose a novel species, Racemicystis persica sp. nov., for strain MSr11462T (=DSM 103165T=NCCB 100606T).