Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans sp. nov., to accommodate the phenanthrene-degrading bacterium Arthrobacter sp. strain Sphe3.

A novel phenanthrene-degrading bacterium, designated strain Sphe3T, was isolated from a creosote-contaminated soil in Greece. Cells were non-motile, Gram-positive, aerobic, and rod- to coccus-shaped. The strain was isolated on the basis of formation of a clear zone on agar plates sprayed with phenanthrene. Optimal growth occurred at 30 °C. The G+C content of the DNA was 65.7 mol%. The polar lipid pattern of strain Sphe3T consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. The dominant fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 0 and anteiso-C17 : 0, representing >86 % of the total fatty acids. The predominant isoprenoid quinone of strain Sphe3T was menaquinone-8 (MK-8). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain Sphe3T showed 99 and 98.9 % similarity to the type strains of Arthrobacter oxydans and Arthrobacter polychromogenes, respectively. Strain Sphe3T showed 91 % similarity to homologues of A. oxydans and A. polychromogenes based on recA gene sequence analysis. Based on 16S rRNA and recA gene sequence analysis and DNA–DNA hybridization analysis, as well as physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, it is concluded that strain Sphe3T represents a novel species of the genus Arthrobacter, for which the name Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Sphe3T (=DSM 18606T =LMG 23796T).