Streptomyces xanthii sp. nov. and Streptomyces roseirectus sp. nov. isolated from a Chinese medicinal plant.

Two strains of Actinobacteria, designated CRXT-Y-14T and CRXT-G-22T, were isolated from the healthy leaves and seeds, respectively, of a medicinal plant Xanthium sibiricum. Their taxonomic positions were determined using a polyphasic approach. Strain CRXT-Y-14T produced flexuous chains of smooth-surfaced spores. Strain CRXT-G-22T produced straight chains of smooth-surfaced spores. Their morphological features were consistent with the diagnostic characteristics of members of the genus Streptomyces. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses indicated two strains represented members of the genus Streptomyces. CRXT-Y-14T shared 99.3, 98.9, 98.8 % sequence similarities to Streptomyces atriruber NRRL B-24165T, Streptomyces avermitilis MA-4680T and Streptomyces davaonensis JCM 4913T, respectively. Whilst CRXT-G-22T exhibited highest similarity to Streptomyces acidiscabies ATCC 49003T (98.9 %). The results of phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the closest phylogenetic neighbours of strains CRXT-Y-14T and CRXT-G-22T were S. atriruber NRRL B-24165T and S. acidiscabies ATCC 49003T, respectively. The phylogenomic analyses further confirmed the relative relationship between strain CRXT-G-22T and S. acidiscabies ATCC 49003T, but indicated that CRXT-Y-14T could represent a novel species of the genus Streptomyce. However, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between CRXT-Y-14T and strain CRXT-G-22T, between CRXT-Y-14T and S. atriruber NRRL B-24165T, and between CRXT-G-22T and S. acidiscabies ATCC 49003T were 85.4 and 23.2 %, 85.8 and 23.9 % and 89.1 and 34.1 %, respectively, far below the 95~96 and 70 % cut-off points recommended for delineating species. Furthermore, these two novel isolates were distinctly differentiated from their relatives in the genus Streptomyces with respect to phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics. On the basis of these data, CRXT-Y-14T and CRXT-G-22T clearly represent two novel species within the genus Streptomyces, for which the names Streptomyces xanthii sp. nov. (type strain CRXT-Y-14T = MCCC 1K04966T= JCM 34527T) and Streptomyces roseirectus sp. nov. (type CRXT-G-22T = MCCC 1K04979T= JCM 34565T) are proposed.