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A polyphasic study was carried out to establish the taxonomic positions of six strains isolated from diverse soil samples and provisionally assigned to the genus Kitasatospora. The isolates were found to have chemical and morphological properties consistent with their classification as Kitasatospora strains. Direct 16S rRNA gene sequence data confirmed the taxonomic position of the strains following the generation of phylogenetic trees by using three tree-making algorithms. Five of the isolates were considered to merit species status using complementary genotypic and phenotypic data. These organisms were designated Kitasatospora arboriphila sp. nov. (HKI 0189(T)=2291-120(T)=DSM 44785(T)=NCIMB 13973(T)), Kitasatospora gansuensis sp. nov. (HKI 0314(T)=2050-015(T)=DSM 44786(T)=NCIMB 13974(T)), Kitasatospora nipponensis sp. nov. (HKI 0315(T)=2148-013(T)=DSM 44787(T)=NCIMB 13975(T)), Kitasatospora paranensis sp. nov. (HKI 0190(T)=2292-041(T)=DSM 44788(T)=NCIMB 13976(T)) and Kitasatospora terrestris sp. nov. (HKI 0186(T)=2293-012(T)=DSM 44789(T)=NCIMB 13977(T)). The remaining organism, isolate HKI 0316 (=2122-022=DSM 44790=NCIMB 13978), was considered to be a strain of Kitasatospora kifunensis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence, DNA-DNA relatedness and phenotypic data.

In order to clarify the taxonomic position of an actinobacterium from the Roman catacomb of Domitilla, a combination of phenotypic characterization, phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and DNA-DNA relatedness studies was used. The results from the polyphasic taxonomic study of this organism showed that strain HKI 0342 T (=DSM 16849T =NCIMB 14033 T ) should be considered as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Isoptericola, for which the name Isoptericola hypogeus sp. nov. is proposed.

The taxonomic status of two actinomycetes isolated from the wall of a hypogean Roman catacomb was established based on a polyphasic investigation. The organisms were found to have chemical and morphological markers typical of members of the genus Amycolatopsis. They also shared a range of chemical, molecular and phenotypic markers which served to separate them from representatives of recognized Amycolatopsis species. The new isolates formed a branch in the Amycolatopsis 16S rRNA gene sequence tree with Amycolatopsis minnesotensis NRRL B-24435 T , but this association was not supported by a particularly high bootstrap value or by the product of the maximum-parsimony tree-making algorithm. The organisms were distinguished readily from closely related Amycolatopsis species based on a combination of phenotypic properties and from all Amycolatopsis strains by their characteristic menaquinone profiles, in which tetra-hydrogenated menaquinones with 11 isoprene units predominated. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data indicate that the isolates merit recognition as representing a novel species of the genus Amycolatopsis. The name proposed for this novel species is Amycolatopsis nigrescens sp. nov., with type strain CSC17Ta-90 T (=HKI 0330 T =DSM 44992 T =NRRL B-24473 T ).The genus Amycolatopsis Lechevalier et al. 1986 is a member of the family Pseudonocardiaceae Embley et al. 1988 (as circumscribed by Warwick et al., 1994). Members of this family are characterized by the presence of meso-diaminopimelic acid, arabinose and galactose in whole-cell hydrolysates (wall chemotype IV sensu Lechevalier & Lechevalier, 1970), fatty acids that mainly consist of iso-and anteisobranched components and N-acetylated muramic acid and by the lack of mycolic acids (Takahashi, 2001). Amycolatopsis strains can be separated from members of the other genera classified within the family Pseudonocardiaceae by using a range of chemotaxonomic and morphological markers (Kim & Goodfellow, 1999) and by genus-specific oligonucleotide primers based on 16S rRNA gene sequences (Tan et al., 2006).Members of the genus Amycolatopsis are Gram-positive, non-acid-fast, non-motile actinomycetes that form branched vegetative hyphae that undergo fragmentation into rod-like and squarish elements. If present, aerial hyphae may be sterile or differentiate into squarish to ovoid sporelike structures (Chun et al., 1999). The genus encompasses alkaliphilic, mesophilic, thermophilic and pathogenic species, which can be distinguished from one another by using a range of phenotypic properties (SaintpierreBonaccio et al., 2005;Lee, 2006;Lee et al., 2006). At the time of writing, the genus Amycolatopsis comprised 32 recognized species and subspecies, although there is compelling evidence that the genus is grossly underspeciated and that Amycolatopsis fastidiosa should be classified within a different taxon (Tan et al., 2006). The present polyphasic study was designed to determine the taxonomic position of two Amycolatopsis-like strains that had been isolated from a h...

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