Virgisporangium Myanmarense Sp. Nov., a Novel Motile Actinomycete Isolated from an Anthill Soil in Myanmar

An actinomycete strain, designated MM04-1133, was isolated from an anthill soil sample collected in Bagan, Myanmar. To establish the taxonomic status of this strain, the isolate was subjected to a polyphasic approach. Strain MM04-1133 was Gram-staining positive, aerobic, motile and formed long and narrow sporangia directly above the surface of the substrate mycelium. Whole-cell hydrolysates of the strain contained 3-OH-diaminopimelic acid, arabinose, glucose, galactose, mannose, rhamnose and xylose. The predominant menaquinones were MK-10(H) and MK-10(H). The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C and anteiso-C. The diagnostic phospholipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The G+C content of the DNA was 69.1 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain MM04-1133 clustered within the genus Virgisporangium, with the sequence exhibiting highest similarity (98.5% identity) with Virgisporangium ochraceum NBRC 16418. The strain grew in the presence of 0-1% (w/v) NaCl, at pH 5-8 and at 20-40 °C, with optimal growth at 30-37 °C. Based on phylogenetic analysis and chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, we propose classifying this isolate as a novel species of the genus Virgisporangium, to be designated as Virgisporangium myanmarense sp. nov. The type strain is MM04-1133 (=NBRC 112733=VTCC 910008).