IJSEM Track the topics, authors and articles important to you
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jurado, V.
Right arrow Articles by Saiz-Jimenez, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jurado, V.
Right arrow Articles by Saiz-Jimenez, C.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Jurado, V.
Right arrow Articles by Saiz-Jimenez, C.
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 56 (2006), 2583-2585; DOI  10.1099/ijs.0.64397-0
© 2006 International Union of Microbiological Societies

Aurantimonas altamirensis sp. nov., a member of the order Rhizobiales isolated from Altamira Cave

Valme Jurado, Juan M. Gonzalez, Leonila Laiz and Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez

Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia, CSIC, Apartado 1052, 41080 Sevilla, Spain

Correspondence
Juan M. Gonzalez
jmgrau{at}irnase.csic.es


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
MAIN TEXT
 REFERENCES
 
A bacterial strain, S21BT, was isolated from Altamira Cave (Cantabria, Spain). The cells were Gram-negative, short rods growing aerobically. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain S21BT represented a separate subline of descent within the family ‘Aurantimonadaceae’ (showing 96 % sequence similarity to Aurantimonas coralicida) in the order Rhizobiales (Alphaproteobacteria). The major fatty acids detected were C16 : 0 and C18 : 1{omega}7c. The G+C content of the DNA from strain S21BT was 71.8 mol%. Oxidase and catalase activities were present. Strain S21BT utilized a wide range of substrates for growth. On the basis of the results of this polyphasic study, isolate S21BT represents a novel species of the genus Aurantimonas, for which the name Aurantimonas altamirensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S21BT (=CECT 7138T=LMG 23375T).

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain S21BT is DQ372921.


   MAIN TEXT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 MAIN TEXT
REFERENCES
 
The genera Aurantimonas and Fulvimarina constitute the two members of the recently described family ‘Aurantimonadaceae’ within the order Rhizobiales. Both genera are represented by single species, Aurantimonas coralicida (Denner et al., 2003Go) and Fulvimarina pelagi (Cho & Giovannoni, 2003Go), which were isolated from the marine environment. A. coralicida was isolated from a diseased coral (Dichocoenia stokesi) and F. pelagi was retrieved from bacterioplankton; at present, there are no members of this family from terrestrial environments.

This paper reports on the isolation and characterization of strain S21BT. This strain was collected from a subterranean environment, Altamira Cave (Cantabria, Spain), being part of a complex microbial community that produces white-coloured colonization on the walls of the cave. This white-coloured microbial growth is threatening the important Palaeolithic paintings of Altamira Cave (Gonzalez et al., 2006Go).

Strain S21BT was isolated on 1000-fold-diluted tryptose soy agar (TSA; Oxoid) at 28 °C. A. coralicida DSM 14790T and F. pelagi DSM 15513T were grown on marine agar 2216 (Difco, Becton Dickinson). The methods used in this study were performed as described previously (Jurado et al., 2005aGo, bGo), except where indicated otherwise. The cellular fatty acids were determined as described by Gonzalez et al. (2004)Go, using the same growth conditions for the tested strains. The growth temperature was tested in the range 4–46 °C. Tolerance of NaCl was studied on TSA and in nutrient broth each supplemented with 0–25 % (w/v) NaCl. Pigment analysis was performed as reported by Denner et al. (2003)Go.

Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain S21BT belongs to the family ‘Aurantimonadaceae’ and is closely related to the members of the genera Aurantimonas (96.1 % similarity) and Fulvimarina (93.2 % similarity). Within this phylogenetic clade, the members of the genera Aurantimonas and Fulvimarina showed 93.8 % similarity. Phylogenetic analysis based on 1293 bp was performed as described previously (Jurado et al., 2005bGo). A consensus tree showed the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain S21BT branching off in the proximity of A. coralicida strains (not shown). Thus, strain S21BT represents the first member of this family to have been isolated from a terrestrial environment.

Strain S21BT grows optimally in nutrient agar without the addition of salts and at salt concentrations below 20 g l–1; these values for salt concentration were lower than the optimum values observed for the type strains of A. coralicida (32 g l–1; Denner et al., 2003Go) and F. pelagi (20–25 g l–1; Cho & Giovannoni, 2003Go). The maximum NaCl concentration tolerated by strain S21BT was 50 g l–1. Growth of A. coralicida and F. pelagi occurred at 4–40 °C, while strain S21BT showed significant growth between 10 and 40 °C, with an optimum at 28 °C. The cells of strain S21BT were Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile, short rods, whereas A. coralicida WP1T showed motility. No flagella were observed on negatively stained cells of strain S21BT. The novel strain was oxidase- and catalase-positive. Other morphological and physiological characteristics of strain S21BT are shown in Table 1Go. The hydrolysis of adenine, hypoxanthine, tyrosine, xanthine and Tweens 20 and 80 differed among the analysed type strains and S21BT. A. coralicida WP1T and strain S21BT could be clearly differentiated on the basis of the production of acid from erythritol and L-xylose; a longer list of substrates utilized differently by F. pelagi HTCC 2506T and strain S21BT is shown in Table 1Go. Strain S21BT was able to assimilate maltose, mannitol and N-acetylglucosamine, whereas A. coralicida WP1T was unable to utilize these substrates. Strain S21BT could also be differentiated from the A. coralicida and F. pelagi type strains on the basis of antibiotic susceptibilities (Table 1Go). Strain S21BT produced carotenoid pigments with peaks in the absorption spectra at 447 and 470–471 nm, with a slight inflexion point at 424–427 nm, similar to A. coralicida and F. pelagi.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
  		Table 1. Phenotypic characteristics of strain S21BT and related type strains

Strains: 1, strain S21BT; 2, A. coralicida DSM 14790T; 3, F. pelagi DSM 15513T. Symbols: –, negative; +, positive; (+), weakly positive. Data were obtained during this study under identical growth conditions, except where indicated otherwise. Strain S21BT produces acid from D-glucose and D-fucose. It produces alkaline phosphatase, esterase (C1), esterase lipase (C8), leucine arylamidase, acid phosphatase and naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase but not lipase (C14), cystine arylamidase, {alpha}-chymotrypsin, {alpha}-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-glucuronidase, {alpha}-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, {alpha}-mannosidase or {alpha}-fucosidase. It assimilates mannose, malate, gluconate and glucose but not capric acid, adipic acid or citrate. It is positive for catalase and oxidase. It is positive for urease activity and negative for glucose fermentation and arginine dihydrolase activity. It is negative for the hydrolysis of aesculin, gelatin and starch, for nitrate reduction and in Voges–Proskauer, methyl red and indole tests. It is sensitive to chloramphenicol (30 µg), rifampicin (5 µg), tetracycline (30 µg), norfloxacin (10 µg), novobiocin (30 µg), streptomycin (10 µg), carbenicillin (100 µg), framycetin (50 µg), nalidixic acid (30 µg) and erythromycin (15 µg). Halophilic growth (at 10 % NaCl) is an additional trait that could be useful in discriminating between Aurantimonas and Fulvimarina species.

 
The major fatty acids detected in strain S21BT are shown in Table 2Go. The predominant fatty acid in strain S21BT was cis-7-octadecenoic acid (C18 : 1{omega}7c), as was the case for A. coralicida and F. pelagi. However, strain S21BT and these species showed significant differences in the content of C19 : 0{omega}8c cyclo, iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0, C18 : 0 and C18 : 1{omega}7c, as shown in Table 2Go.


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
  		Table 2. Major fatty acid composition of strain S21BT and related type strains

Strains: 1, strain S21BT; 2, A. coralicida DSM 14790T; 3, F. pelagi DSM 15513T. Data were obtained during this study under identical growth conditions. ND, Not detected.

 
The DNA G+C content of strain S21BT was 71.8±1.8 mol%, which is slightly higher than the value for A. coralicida WP1T (66.3 mol%; Denner et al., 2003Go) and much higher than those for F. pelagi strains (57.6–59.9 mol%; Cho & Giovannoni, 2003Go). The degrees of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain S21BT and the type strains of A. coralicida and F. pelagi were determined using DNA from strain S21BT as a probe for DNA–DNA hybridization, according to the method described by Ziemke et al. (1998)Go. A. coralicida WP1T and F. pelagi HTCC 2506T showed DNA relatedness values of 56 and 46 %, respectively. The results regarding G+C contents and DNA–DNA relatedness estimates confirmed that strain S21BT represents a novel genospecies that can be clearly differentiated from A. coralicida and F. pelagi.

On the basis of the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics described above and their differences with respect to those of previously described related species within the family ‘Aurantimonadaceae’, strain S21BT represents a novel species within the genus Aurantimonas, for which the name Aurantimonas altamirensis sp. nov. is proposed.

Description of Aurantimonas altamirensis sp. nov.
Aurantimonas altamirensis [al.ta.mi.ren'sis. N.L. fem. adj. altamirensis referring to Altamira Cave (Cantabria, Spain), where the type strain was isolated].

Gram-negative. Cells are non-motile, short rods, 0.9 µm wide and 1.1 µm long on average. Strictly aerobic. Colonies are about 1 mm in diameter, yellow-coloured, circular, convex and smooth. Growth occurs between 10 and 40 °C, growing optimally at 28 °C. The optimum NaCl concentration for growth is 0–20 g NaCl l–1; concentrations up to 50 g l–1 are tolerated. Peaks in absorption spectra are as defined for the genus. Catalase-, oxidase- and urease-positive. Chemotaxonomic characteristics are as reported in Table 1Go. The predominant fatty acid is C18 : 1{omega}7c, with significant proportions of C16 : 0, C18 : 1 2-OH, iso-C16 : 0 and C18 : 0; C19 : 0{omega}8c cyclo is not detected. The DNA G+C content of the type strain is 71.8 mol%.

The type strain, strain S21BT (=CECT 7138T=LMG 23375T), was isolated from Altamira Cave (Cantabria, Spain).


   ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
The authors acknowledge support through a contract with the Ministry of Culture. V. J. and J. M. G. are grateful for support from the I3P and Ramon y Cajal programs, respectively, from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC).


   REFERENCES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 MAIN TEXT
 REFERENCES
 
Cho, J.-C. & Giovannoni, S. J. (2003). Fulvimarina pelagi gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine bacterium that forms a deep evolutionary lineage of descent in the order ‘Rhizobiales’. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 53, 1853–1859.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Denner, E. B. M., Smith, G. W., Busse, H.-J., Schumann, P., Narzt, T., Polson, S. W., Lubitz, W. & Richardson, L. L. (2003). Aurantimonas coralicida gen. nov., sp. nov., the causative agent of white plague type II on Caribbean scleractinian corals. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 53, 1115–1122.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Gonzalez, J. M., Jurado, V., Laiz, L., Zimmermann, J., Hermosin, B. & Saiz-Jimenez, C. (2004). Pectinatus portalensis nov. sp., a relatively fast-growing, coccoidal, novel Pectinatus species isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 86, 241–247.[CrossRef][Medline]

Gonzalez, J. M., Portillo, M. C. & Saiz-Jimenez, C. (2006). Metabolically active Crenarchaeota in Altamira Cave. Naturwissenschaften 93, 42–45.[CrossRef][Medline]

Jurado, V., Groth, I., Gonzalez, J. M., Laiz, L. & Saiz-Jimenez, C. (2005a). Agromyces salentinus sp. nov. and Agromyces neolithicus sp. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 55, 153–157.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Jurado, V., Laiz, L., Gonzalez, J. M., Hernández-Mariné, M., Valens, M. & Saiz-Jimenez, C. (2005b). Phyllobacterium catacumbae sp. nov., a member of the order ‘Rhizobiales’ isolated from Roman catacombs. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 55, 1487–1490.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Ziemke, F., Höfle, M. G., Lalucat, J. & Rosselló-Mora, R. (1998). Reclassification of Shewanella putrefaciens Owen's genomic group II as Shewanella baltica sp. nov. Int J Syst Bacteriol 48, 179–186.[Abstract/Free Full Text]




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
R. E. Mendes, G. A. Denys, T. R. Fritsche, and R. N. Jones
Case Report of Aurantimonas altamirensis Bloodstream Infection
J. Clin. Microbiol., February 1, 2009; 47(2): 514 - 515.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.Home page
V. Jurado, P. Boiron, R. M. Kroppenstedt, F. Laurent, A. Couble, L. Laiz, H.-P. Klenk, J. M. Gonzalez, C. Saiz-Jimenez, D. Mouniee, et al.
Nocardia altamirensis sp. nov., isolated from Altamira cave, Cantabria, Spain
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, September 1, 2008; 58(9): 2210 - 2214.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Appl. Environ. Microbiol.Home page
H. A. Bullen, S. A. Oehrle, A. F. Bennett, N. M. Taylor, and H. A. Barton
Use of Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy To Identify Microbial Metabolic Products on Carbonate Mineral Surfaces
Appl. Envir. Microbiol., July 15, 2008; 74(14): 4553 - 4559.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
M.-L. Luong, S. Bekal, D. C. Vinh, D. Lauzon, V. Leung, G. N. Al-Rawahi, B. Ng, T. Burdz, and K. Bernard
First Report of Isolation and Characterization of Aurantimonas altamirensis from Clinical Samples
J. Clin. Microbiol., July 1, 2008; 46(7): 2435 - 2437.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.Home page
M. S. Kim, K. T. Q. Hoa, K. S. Baik, S. C. Park, and C. N. Seong
Aurantimonas frigidaquae sp. nov., isolated from a water-cooling system
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, May 1, 2008; 58(5): 1142 - 1146.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.Home page
C. Y. Hwang and B. C. Cho
Cohaesibacter gelatinilyticus gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine bacterium that forms a distinct branch in the order Rhizobiales, and proposal of Cohaesibacteraceae fam. nov.
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, January 1, 2008; 58(1): 267 - 277.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.Home page
H.-Y. Weon, B.-Y. Kim, S.-H. Yoo, J.-H. Joa, K. H. Lee, Y.-S. Zhang, S.-W. Kwon, and B.-S. Koo
Aurantimonas ureilytica sp. nov., isolated from an air sample
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, August 1, 2007; 57(8): 1717 - 1720.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jurado, V.
Right arrow Articles by Saiz-Jimenez, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jurado, V.
Right arrow Articles by Saiz-Jimenez, C.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Jurado, V.
Right arrow Articles by Saiz-Jimenez, C.

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL MICROBIOLOGY J GEN VIROL
J MED MICROBIOL ALL SGM JOURNALS