Streptomyces scabrisporus sp. nov.

The taxonomic position was determined for a soil actinomycete, isolate KM-4927T, that produced the antibiotic hitachimycin. The strain was assigned to the genus Streptomyces on the basis of 16S rDNA analysis, where it formed a separate clade. The strain is characterized by grey aerial cell mass, spiral spore chains and a rugose spore surface, menaquinones of the MK-9(H4, H2, H6) types and cell-wall chemotype I. DNA–DNA reassociation with 21 phylogenetically neighbouring Streptomyces type strains showing similar morphological characteristics to strain KM-4927T indicated that this isolate is only moderately related to other Streptomyces species. On the basis of genomic and physiological properties, the novel species Streptomyces scabrisporus sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is strain KM-4927T (=JCM 11712T=NRRL B-24202T).