Sporosarcina macmurdoensis sp. nov., from a cyanobacterial mat sample from a pond in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.

Strain CMS 21w(T) was isolated from a cyanobacterial mat sample taken from a pond located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Based on its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties, strain CMS 21w(T) was identified as a member of the genus SPOROSARCINA: At the 16S rRNA gene level, CMS 21w(T) exhibited about 93-96 % similarity to all reported species of Sporosarcina and exhibited a maximum similarity of 96 % to both Sporosarcina globispora and Sporosarcina psychrophila. Based on more than 3 % difference at the 16S rRNA gene sequence level and the presence of distinct differences with respect to phenotypic, biochemical and chemotaxonomic features, strain CMS 21w(T) (=MTCC 4670(T)=DSM 15428(T)=CIP 107784(T)) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of Sporosarcina, Sporosarcina macmurdoensis sp. nov.