Amycolatopsis keratiniphila sp. nov., a novel keratinolytic soil actinomycete from Kuwait

Abstract

A keratinolytic, nocardioform actinomycete, strain D2 T , was isolated from Kuwait marsh soil by the bait technique using animal wool. Strain D2T was an aerobic, Gram-positive organism that produced light-grey aerial mycelium but no specific spore chains. 16S rDNA sequence analyses and chemotaxonomic markers were consistent with the classification of strain D2 T in the genus Amycolatopsis, i.e. it had meso-diaminopimelic acid in its peptidoglycan, arabinose and galactose as its diagnostic sugars, the polar lipids phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, hydroxyphosphatidylethanolamine and diphosphatidylglycerol, menaquinone MK-9(H 4 ) and an iso-/anteiso-branched fatty acid pattern combined with 10-methyl-branched and 2-hydroxybranched fatty acids. Amycolatopsis japonica was the closest phylogenetic neighbour of strain D2 T ,showing 99?4 % 16S rDNA sequence similarity with the novel strain. A. japonica and strain D2 T could be clearly separated from each other on the basis of their low DNA-DNA reassociation value (55?9 %). These data, together with its distinct physiological traits, led to the conclusion that strain D2 T represented a novel species within the genus Amycolatopsis, for which the name Amycolatopsis keratiniphila (type strain D2The ability to degrade hair or other keratin-based substances, such as horn or feathers, is not widely distributed among bacteria. The degradation of natural keratin by Lysobacter spp. has been reported previously (Reichenbach, 1992). Martin & So (1969) isolated a strain of myxobacteria that could use autoclaved feathers and wool as sole C and N sources, but it was unable to attack untreated material. Among the actinomycetes, members of the genera Cellulomonas (Goodfellow, 1971), Streptomyces (Jensen, 1930) and Pilimelia (Kane, 1966) show keratinolytic activities. Species of the genus Pilimelia are well known for their ability to degrade keratin, as they are frequently isolated from soil using the hair bait technique. Species of this genus are easily differentiated from all other actinomycetes by their typical sporangia, which release zoospores when the mycelium is flooded with water (Vobis et al., 1986). Until now, there have been no reports concerning keratindegrading Amycolatopsis spp. The aim of this study was to clarify the taxonomic position of a novel keratindegrading Amycolatopsis isolate, strain D2 T , by morphological, physiological, chemotaxonomical and molecular biological methods. Strain D2T was isolated from marsh soil in Kuwait that had been baited with sterilized and defatted wool; the strain was deposited with the DSMZ as Amycolatopsis keratiniphila DSM 44409T . Determinations of morphological traits, colour of the aerial and substrate mycelia, and of soluble pigments were performed as described previously (Shirling & Gottlieb, 1966). Biochemical tests were done as described by Lechevalier et al. (1986). Strain D2 T showed the typical macroscopic and microscopic appearance of a member of the genus Amycolatopsis (Henssen et al., 1987;Kothe et al., 198...

Amycolatopsis decaplanina sp. nov., a novel member of the genus with unusual morphology

“…2) was reconstructed from the distance matrix by using the treeing algorithm of DeSoete (1983). Strain DSM 44594 T was related closely to Amycolatopsis azurea DSM 43854 T (99?2 % sequence similarity), Amycolatopsis orientalis IMSNU 20058 T (99?0 %), Amycolatopsis japonica DSM 44213 T (99?1 %) and Amycolatopsis keratiniphila DSM 44409 T (99?1 %) (Al-Musallam et al, 2003). Sequence similarity values with less closely related members of the genus ranged between 95?0 and 98?8 %.…”

Amycolatopsis palatopharyngis sp. nov., a potentially pathogenic actinomycete isolated from a human clinical source

“…Recently, increasing interest has been shown in Amycolatopsis, as it contains strains that produce commercially significant bioactive compounds. Eight novel species with validly published names have been described during the last 3 years Huang et al, 2001;Lee & Hah, 2001;Kim et al, 2002;Al-Musallam et al, 2003;Labeda et al, 2003). The 18 species of this genus phylogenetically form two groups, the Amycolatopsis methanolica and Amycolatopsis orientalis subclades (Kim et al, 2002).…”

“…The 18 species of this genus phylogenetically form two groups, the Amycolatopsis methanolica and Amycolatopsis orientalis subclades (Kim et al, 2002). The A. orientalis subclade comprises 11 mesophilic species, Amycolatopsis alba, Amycolatopsis albidoflavus, Amycolatopsis azurea, Amycolatopsis coloradensis, Amycolatopsis japonica, Amycolatopsis keratiniphila, Amycolatopsis mediterranei, A. orientalis, Amycolatopsis pretoriensis, Amycolatopsis rubida and Amycolatopsis sulphurea (Huang et al, 2001;Lee & Hah, 2001;Kim et al, 2002;Al-Musallam et al, 2003;Labeda et al, 2003), and three moderately thermophilic species, Amycolatopsis kentuckyensis, Amycolatopsis lexingtonensis and Amycolatopsis sacchari, which grow at 45 u C Labeda et al, 2003). The A. methanolica subclade comprises three thermophilic species, Amycolatopsis eurytherma, A. methanolica and Amycolatopsis thermoflava, which grow at temperatures above 50 uC (de Boer et al, 1990;Chun et al, 1999;Kim et al, 2002).…”

Biotechnological Exploitation of Actinobacterial Members

“…The only valid species reported to render keratinolytic activity is Nocardiopsis halotolerans (Al-Zarban et al 2002a ) and Amycolatopsis keratiniphila (Al-Musallam et al 2003 ), both isolated are from salt marsh soil in Kuwait, Actinomadura keratinilytica (Saha et al 2013 ) isolated from bovine manure compost, while Nacardiopsis sp. (Saha et al 2013 ) isolated from a feather waste site.…”