Granulicoccus phenolivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., a Gram-positive, phenol-degrading coccus isolated from phenol-degrading aerobic granules

A Gram-positive bacterium, designated strain PG-02(T), was isolated by serial dilution from aerobic granules obtained from a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor for bioremediation of phenolic wastewater. Strain PG-02(T) grew axenically as cocci and is an oxidase-negative and catalase-positive, non-motile facultative anaerobe. It does not reduce nitrate and grows between 15 and 37 degrees C, with an optimum temperature of 30 degrees C. The pH range for growth is between 5.0 and 8.5, with an optimum pH of 7.0. Strain PG-02(T) contains type A3gamma peptidoglycan (ll-A(2)pm<--Gly with alanine at position 1 of the peptide subunit). The G+C content of the DNA is 69 mol%. Menaquinone MK-9(H(4)) was the major isoprenoid quinone. The polar lipids included diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol, while 13-methyltetradecanoic acid (i-C(15 : 0)) and 1,1-dimethoxy-iso-pentadecane (i-C(15 : 0) DMA) were the major components in whole-cell methanolysates. PG-02(T) stained positively for intracellular polyphosphate granules but not poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates. It produces capsular material and possesses an autoaggregation capability. Phenotypic and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that PG-02(T) differed from its closest phylogenetic relatives, namely members of the suborder Propionibacterineae, which includes the genera Tessaracoccus, Microlunatus, Luteococcus, Micropruina, Propionibacterium, Propioniferax, Nocardioides, Friedmanniella and Aeromicrobium, and that it should be placed in a new genus and species as Granulicoccus phenolivorans gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Granulicoccus phenolivorans is PG-02(T) (=ATCC BAA-1292(T)=DSM 17626(T)).