Gordonia amicalis sp. nov., a novel dibenzothiophene-desulphurizing actinomycete.

The taxonomic position of a dibenzothiophene-desulphurizing soil actinomycete was established using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The organism, strain IEGMT, was shown to have chemical and morphological properties typical of members of the genus Gordonia. The tested strain formed a distinct phyletic line within the evolutionary radiation occupied by the genus Gordonia, with Gordonia alkanivorans DSM 44369T, Gordonia desulfuricans NCIMB 40816T and Gordonia rubropertincta DSM 43197T as the most closely related organisms. Strain IEGMT has a range of phenotypic properties that distinguish it from representatives of all of the validly described species of Gordonia. It was also sharply distinguished from the type strains of Gordonia desulfuricans and Gordonia rubropertincta on the basis of DNA-DNA relatedness data. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data show that strain IEGMT merits recognition as a new species of Gordonia. The name proposed for the new species is Gordonia amicalis; the type strain is IEGMT (= DSM 44461T = KCTC 9899T).