Arthrobacter roseus sp. nov., a psychrophilic bacterium isolated from an antarctic cyanobacterial mat sample.

Abstract

Strain CMS 90r^T, a red-pigmented bacterium, was isolated from a cyanobacterial mat sample from a pond located in McMurdo, Antarctica. Based on its chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties, strain CMS 90r^T was identified as a member of group I of Arthrobacter. It shared 16S rDNA similarity of 98% with Arthrobacter oxydans ATCC 14358^T and Arthrobacter polychromogenes ATCC 15216^T, while DNA-DNA similarities determined for these three organisms were less than 70%. It also differed from all 17 reported Arthrobacter species with A₃α-variant peptidoglycan in that it possessed a unique peptidoglycan (Lys-Gly-Ala₃) and contained galactose, glucose, ribose and rhamnose as cell-wall sugars. These data and the presence of diagnostic phenotypic traits support the description of CMS 90r^T as a novel species of Arthrobacter, for which the name Arthrobacter roseus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain CMS 90r^T (= MTCC 3712^T = DSM 14508^T).