Deinococcus psychrotolerans sp. nov., isolated from soil on the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, strictly aerobic, coccus-shaped bacterium, designated S14-83 T , was isolated from a soil sample collected from the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the strain is a novel member of the genus Deinococcus , with Deinococcus alpinitundrae as its closest relative (96.1 % similarity). The DNA G+C content of the strain was 61.1 mol% and the major respiratory quinone was MK-8. Major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 ω7 c /C 16 : 1 ω6 c ) and C 16 : 0 . As well as containing glycophospholipid, aminophospholipids and glycolipid as major polar lipids, there were also some unknown polar lipids. The diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan was ornithine, corroborating the assignment of the strain to the genus Deinococcus . Strain S14-83 T was shown to be extremely resistant to gamma radiation (>10 kGy) and UV light (460 Jm -2 ). On the basis of phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data presented here, strain S14-83 T represents a novel species of the genus Deinococcus , for which the name Deinococcus psychrotolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S14-83 T (=CCTCC AB 2015449 T = DSM 105285 T ).