Actinospica durhamensis sp. nov., isolated from a spruce forest soil

Seven acidophilic actinobacteria isolated from humus and mineral layers of a spruce forest soil were examined using a polyphasic approach. Chemo- taxonomic properties of the isolates were found to be consistent with their classification in the genus Acti- nospica. The strains formed a distinct phyletic line in the Actinospica 16S rRNA gene tree being most closely related to Actinospica robiniae DSM 44927 T (98.7-99.3 % similarity). DNA:DNA relatedness be- tween isolate CSCA57 T and the type strain of A. robiniae was found to be low at 40.8 (±6.6) %. The isolates were shown to have many phenotypic prop- erties in common and were distinguished readily from the type strains of Actinospica acidiphila and A. robiniae using a range of phenotypic features. On the basis of these data the seven isolates were considered to represent a new species for which the name Actinospica durhamensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the species is CSCA 57 T (=DSM 46820 T = NCIMB 14953 T ).