Lechevalieria atacamensis sp. nov., Lechevalieria deserti sp. nov. and Lechevalieria roselyniae sp. nov., isolated from hyperarid soils.

The taxonomic positions of three Lechevalieria-like strains isolated from hyperarid soils of the Atacama Desert, Chile, were established by using a polyphasic approach. The organisms had chemical and morphological properties consistent with their classification in the genus Lechevalieria. They formed a distinct subclade in the Lechevalieria 16S rRNA gene clade and were most closely related to the type strain of Lechevalieria xinjiangensis. DNA-DNA relatedness data showed that each of the isolates and Lechevalieria xinjiangensis DSM 45081(T) belong to distinct genomic species. The new isolates and the type strains of recognized Lechevalieria species were readily distinguished based on a number of phenotypic properties. A combination of the genotypic and phenotypic data showed that the three isolates represent three novel species of the genus Lechevalieria. The names proposed for these taxa are Lechevalieria atacamensis sp. nov. (type strain C61(T) =CGMCC 4.5536(T) =NRRL B-24706(T)), Lechevalieria deserti sp. nov. (type strain C68(T) =CGMCC 4.5535(T) =NRRL B-24707(T)) and Lechevalieria roselyniae sp. nov. (type strain C81(T) =CGMCC 4.5537(T) =NRRL B-24708(T)).