Sporosarcina macmurdoensis sp. nov., from a cyanobacterial mat sample from a pond in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Abstract

Strain CMS 21w^T was isolated from a cyanobacterial mat sample taken from a pond located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Based on its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties, strain CMS 21w^T was identified as a member of the genus Sporosarcina. At the 16S rRNA gene level, CMS 21w^T exhibited about 93-96% similarity to all reported species of Sporosarcina and exhibited a maximum similarity of 96% to both Sporosarcina globispora and Sporosarcina psychrophila. Based on more than 3% difference at the 16S rRNA gene sequence level and the presence of distinct differences with respect to phenotypic, biochemical and chemotaxonomic features, strain CMS 21w^T (=MTCC 4670^T=DSM 15428^T=CIP 107784^T) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of Sporosarcina, Sporosarcina macmurdoensis sp. nov.