Saccharothrix ghardaiensis sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from Saharan soil.

The taxonomic position of a new Saccharothrix strain, designated MB46, isolated from a Saharan soil sample collected in Mzab region (Ghardaïa province, South Algeria) was established following a polyphasic approach. The novel microorganism has morphological and chemical characteristics typical of the members of the genus Saccharothrix and formed a phyletic line at the periphery of the Saccharothrix espanaensis subcluster in the 16S rRNA gene dendrograms. Results of the 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain MB46 shares high degrees of similarity with S. espanaensis DSM 44229 (99.2%), Saccharothrix variisporea DSM 43911 (98.7%) and Saccharothrix texasensis NRRL B-16134 (98.6%). However, the new strain exhibited only 12.5-17.5% DNA relatedness to the neighbouring Saccharothrix spp. On the basis of phenotypic characteristics, 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons and DNA-DNA hybridizations, strain MB46 is concluded to represent a novel species of the genus Saccharothrix, for which the name Saccharothrix ghardaiensis sp. nov. (type strain MB46 = DSM 46886 = CECT 9046) is proposed.