Classification of the gifted natural product producerStreptomyces roseofacienssp. nov. by polyphasic taxonomy

ABSTRACT A novel verticillate strain of streptomycetes, Streptomyces strain MBT76 T , was isolated from the QinLing mountains, which harbours more than 40 biosynthetic gene clusters for natural products. Here we present full taxonomic classification of strain MBT76 T , and show that it has chemotaxonomic, genomic and morphological properties consistent with its classification in the genus Streptomyces . Strain MBT76 T is part of the cluster of Streptoverticillates, a group within the genus Streptomyces that has characteristic whorl-forming spores produced in chains along the lateral wall of the hyphae. Multi-locus sequence analysis based on five housekeeping gene alleles showed that MBT76 T is closely related to Streptomyces hiroshimensis . Average Nucleotide Identification (ANI) and Genome to Genome Distance Calculation (GGDC) of the genomes of strain MBT76 T and S. hiroshimensis separated them into distinct species. Strain MBT76 T represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces for which we propose the name Streptomyces roseofaciens sp. nov. The type strain is MBT76 T (=NCCB 100637 T =DSM 106196 T ). The whole genome of MBT76 T has 7974 predicted open reading frames and a total genome size of 8.64 Mb. Further genomic analysis showed that verticillate streptomycetes lack the sporulation gene ssgE , and our data suggest that this is a useful genetic marker for the spore-chain morphology of the verticillates.