Amycolatopsis palatopharyngis sp. nov., a potentially pathogenic actinomycete isolated from a human clinical source.

The taxonomic position of an actinomycete, strain 1BDZ(T), isolated from a clinical human source was determined using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on almost complete 16S rDNA sequences showed that this organism consistently formed a distinct line with the Amycolatopsis methanolica subclade within the genus Amycolatopsis, and shared moderately low 16S rDNA similarity (<96.5 %) with other species. The organism was also found to have chemical and morphological properties typical of members of the genus Amycolatopsis. A range of phenotypic characteristics readily distinguished this strain from representatives of all species of Amycolatopsis with validly published names. On the basis of these data, a novel species, Amycolatopsis palatopharyngis sp. nov., is proposed to accommodate strain 1BDZ(T) (=AS 4.1729(T)=PCM 2600(T)).