Pseudonocardia endophytica sp. nov., isolated from the pharmaceutical plant Lobelia clavata

An endophytic actinomycete strain, designated YIM 56035(T), was isolated from the inner tissue of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Lobelia clavata. The strain stained Gram-positive, was aerobic and exhibited branching, white aerial mycelium and yellowish-brown substrate mycelium. The strain formed spore chains on aerial hyphae. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 70.3 mol%. On the basis of morphological, physiological, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain YIM 56035(T) was assigned to the genus Pseudonocardia. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed 98.5, 97.3, 97.3 and 97.1 % similarity to the closely related type strains Pseudonocardia kongjuensis LM 157(T), Pseudonocardia autotrophica IMSNU 20050(T), Pseudonocardia ammonioxydans H9(T) and Pseudonocardia compacta IMSNU 20111(T), respectively. The results of DNA-DNA hybridizations and comparison of some phenotypic characteristics revealed that the strain represents a novel species of the genus Pseudonocardia. The name Pseudonocardia endophytica sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain YIM 56035(T) (=DSM 44969(T) =CCTCC AA 206026(T) =KCTC 19150(T)).