Lechevalieria fradiae sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from soil in China

The taxonomic position of a soil isolate, strain Z6^T, was established using a polyphasic approach. The organism showed a range of chemical and morphological properties consistent with its classification in the genus Lechevalieria. An almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence determined for the strain was aligned with corresponding sequences of representatives of the genus Lechevalieria and related taxa using three tree-making algorithms. The organism formed a distinct phyletic line within the evolutionary radiation occupied by the genus Lechevalieria and was more closely related to the type strain of Lechevalieria aerocolonigenes than to that of Lechevalieria flava. Strain Z6^T could be distinguished from both these strains using DNA-DNA relatedness data and by a combination of phenotypic properties. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data show that strain Z6^T should be assigned to the genus Lechevalieria as a representative of a novel species. The name proposed for this new taxon is Lechevalieria fradiae sp. nov. The type strain is Z6^T (= CGMCC 4.3506^T=JCM 14205^T).