LAUSR

Two novel actinomycetes, designated strains 2C-SSA16(2)T and 1C-GS8T, were isolated from the cuticle of Camponotus japonicus Mayr, collected from Northeast Agricultural University, Heilongjiang Province, north China. Both of them contained genes (involved in antibiotics biosynthesis) of the ketosynthase (KS) and methyl malonyl transferase domains (PKS-I) and the adenylation domain (NRPS). A polyphasic study was carried out to establish the taxonomic positions of these strains. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the two novel isolates 2C-SSA16(2)T and 1C-GS8T exhibited 98.8% similarity with each other and that they are most closely related to Streptomyces umbrinus JCM 4521T (99.0, 98.6%), Streptomyces ederensis JCM 4958T (98.9, 98.7%), Streptomyces aurantiacus JCM 4453T (98.6, 98.2%), Streptomyces glomeroaurantiacus JCM 4677T (98.6, 98.1%), Streptomyces tauricus JCM4837T (98.2, 98.0%) and Streptomyces phaeochromogenes JCM 4070T (98.2, 99.2%). The corresponding phylogenetic analysis based on partial gyrB gene sequences showed that strains 2C-SSA16(2)T and 1C-GS8T formed a cluster with the above-mentioned strains. The DNA–DNA hybridization data and phenotypic characteristics indicated that strains 2C-SSA16(2)T and 1C-GS8T could be readily distinguished from each other and their closest phylogenetic relatives. Therefore, these two strains are suggested to represent two novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the names Streptomyces camponoti sp. nov. and Streptomyces cuticulae sp. nov. are proposed. The type strains are 2C-SSA16(2)T (=CGMCC 4.7276T = DSM 100522T) and 1C-GS8T (=CGMCC 4.7348 = DSM 103127T), respectively.