Strain DSM 44594T , which produces the glycopeptide antibiotic decaplanin, is a member of the genus Amycolatopsis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and chemotaxonomic properties. It is the first member of this genus that is reported to form pseudosporangia, which resemble those of members of the genus Kibdelosporangium. Phylogenetically, the novel taxon is related to Amycolatopsis orientalis, Amycolatopsis lurida, Amycolatopsis azurea, Amycolatopsis japonica and Amycolatopsis keratiniphila. Morphological, cultural and physiological properties, the production of a unique glycolipid and DNA-DNA similarity of <55 % with phylogenetically related strains reveal that strain DSM 44594 T represents a novel species of the genus, for In the course of a screening programme in Hoechst, Frankfurt, for new antibiotics that are active against methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, the strain that produces the new antibiotic decaplanin (Eur. Pat., 1990, EP 356894) was isolated from a soil sample from India. Strain FH 1845 T (=DSM 44594 T =NRRL B-24209 T ) displays activity against a wide range of Grampositive bacteria, including enterococci and clinical isolates, that are resistant to commonly applied antibiotics (Sanchez et al., 1992). Micrographs of the strain described in this study are shown in Fig. 1. Morphological and physiological characteristics of DSM 44594 T were observed on various agar cultures as described by Shirling & Gottlieb (1966): yeast extract/malt extract agar (ISP 2), oatmeal agar (ISP 3), inorganic salt/starch agar (ISP 4), glycerol/asparagine agar (ISP 5), peptone/yeast extract/iron agar (ISP 6) and tyrosine agar (ISP 7), incubated for 10 days at 28 u C. For scanning electron microscopy (Grabley et al., 1992), the strain was grown on ISP 3 agar. A honey-yellow vegetative mycelium developed on all ISP media tested (RAL colour code 1005; Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e.V. -Reichsausschuß für Lieferbedingungen). Aerial mycelium was only formed on ISP 3 medium and a soluble red pigment was produced on ISP 7 medium. After 7-10 days on ISP 3 medium, sporangium-like elements were formed. These elements showed a smooth surface and a regular shape under the scanning electron microscope. Spores were not detected either inside or outside the pseudosporangia.Utilization of carbohydrates was investigated on ISP 9 medium (Shirling & Gottlieb, 1966) by using a 12-well microtitre plate technique. Sodium chloride tolerance was also tested on 6-well microtitre plates by using a technique based on the method of Kutzner et al. (1986). A fingerprint of enzymic activities was obtained by using API 20E and API ZYM test strips (Smith et al., 1972;Humble et al., 1977;Kilian, 1978). Reactions are indicated in the species description.To determine the antimicrobial spectrum (Williams et al., 1989), bacteria were grown on Mueller-Hinton agar and fungi on Czapek Dox agar. Antibacterial activity was seen after cultivation on ISP 2, ISP 3 and starch media, especially against Staphylococc...