Sphingobium aromaticiconvertens sp. nov., a xenobiotic-compound-degrading bacterium from polluted river sediment.

A bacterial strain capable of degrading some monochlorinated dibenzofurans, designated RW16T, was isolated from aerobic River Elbe sediments. The strain was characterized based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, DNA G+C content, physiological characteristics, polyamines, ubiquinone and polar lipid pattern and fatty acid composition. This analysis revealed that strain RW16T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingobium. The DNA G+C content of strain RW16T, 60.7 mol%, is the lowest yet reported for the genus. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed strain RW16T as an outlier in the genus Sphingobium. The name Sphingobium aromaticiconvertens sp. nov. is proposed for this dibenzofuran-mineralizing organism, with type strain RW16T (=DSM 12677T=CIP 109198T).