Micromonospora equina sp. nov., isolated from soil from a racecourse
Two actinomycete strains were isolated from within the fynbos-rich area surrounded by the horseracing track at Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town, South Africa. Rapid molecular identification indicated that the isolates belonged to the family Micromonosporaceae . Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence blast analysis, the isolates were identified as members of the genus Micromonospora . Phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolates clustered with each other and were most closely related to Micromonospora viridifaciens DSM 43909T. Further 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis using EzTaxon revealed that the isolates are closely related to Micromonospora auratinigra TT1-11T, Micromonospora chaiyaphumensis MC5-1T, Micromonospora eburnea LK2-10T, Micromonospora nigra DSM 43818T and Micromonospora olivasterospora DSM 43868T. DNA–DNA hybridization and physiological tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of both isolates from related species; however, their high DNA–DNA relatedness showed that they belong to the same genomic species. Strain Y22T ( = DSM 45644T = NRRL B-24859T) was selected as the type strain to represent this novel species, for which the name Micromonospora equina sp. nov. is proposed.