Rhodococcus kronopolitis sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from a millipede (Kronopolites svenhedind Verhoeff)

A novel actinobacterium, designated strain NEAU-ML12T, was isolated from a millipede (Kronopolites svenhedind Verhoeff), which was collected from Fenghuang Mountain in Wuchang, Heilongjiang Province, north China. The strain was characterized using a polyphasic approach. Strain NEAU-ML12T was found to have morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics typical of the members of the genus Rhodococcus. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity analysis showed that the strain NEAU-ML12T belongs to the genus Rhodococcus, and was most closely related to Rhodococcus tukisamuensis Mb8T (98.9 %) and Rhodococcus koreensis DNP505T (97.7 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences also demonstrated that strain NEAU-ML12T should be classified in the genus Rhodococcus, forming a distinct clade with R. tukisamuensis Mb8T supported by a 99 % bootstrap value. However, the DNA–DNA relatedness between strain NEAU-ML12T and R. tukisamuensis Mb8T was found to be 41.9 ± 0.7 %. Furthermore, strain NEAU-ML12T could also be differentiated from R. tukisamuensis Mb8T and other closely related strains (R. koreensis DNP505T and Rhodococcus maanshanensis M712T) by morphological and physiological characteristics. Therefore, it is proposed that strain NEAU-ML12T represents a novel species of the genus Rhodococcus, for which the name Rhodococcus kronopolitis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-ML12T (=CGMCC 4.7145T = DSM 46702T).