Ornithinicoccus hortensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a soil actinomycete which contains L-ornithine.

Two Gram-positive coccoid, non-motile bacteria with L-ornithine as diagnostic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan and an interpeptide bridge of L-Orn<--Gly(1,2)<--D-Glu were isolated from a sample of garden soil. The major menaquinone is MK-8(H4). 13-methyl and 12-methyl tetradecanoic acids are the predominant fatty acids. The polar lipids are phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylserine and two unknown phospholipids. Mycolic acids are absent. The DNA base composition is 72 mol% G + C. Recent comparative 16S rDNA studies revealed that strains HKI 0125T and HKI 0131 represent a novel lineage adjacent to the family Intrasporangiaceae of the order Actinomycetales but distinct from the previously described genera of this family. On the basis of the genotypic, chemotaxonomic, morphological and physiological characteristics of these two isolates it is proposed to classify HKI 0125T and HKI 0131 in a new genus and species for which the name Ornithinicoccus hortensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HKI 0125T (= DSM 12335T).