Pseudonocardia tetrahydrofuranoxydans sp. nov.
A Gram-positive, rod-shaped, non-endospore-forming but mycelium-forming actinobacterium (strain K1T) was isolated from an enrichment culture containing tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the sole source of carbon. On the basis of its G+C content (71.3 mol%) and of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies, strain K1T was shown to belong to the family Pseudonocardiaceae, most closely related to Pseudonocardia hydrocarbonoxydans (99.3 %), P. benzenivorans (98.8 %) and P. sulfidoxydans (98.3 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to other Pseudonocardia species was less than 97 %. Chemotaxonomic data [major menaquinone MK-8(H4); major fatty acids C16 : 0 iso, C15 : 0 iso and C17 : 1 ω6c] supported the affiliation of strain K1T to the genus Pseudonocardia. The results of DNA–DNA hybridizations and physiological and biochemical tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain K1T from the three species P. benzenivorans, P. sulfidoxydans and P. hydrocarbonoxydans, although all four organisms utilized THF. Strain K1T represents a novel species, for which the name Pseudonocardia tetrahydrofuranoxydans sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain K1T (=DSM 44239T=CIP 109050T).