Deinococcus terrestris sp. nov., a gamma ray- and ultraviolet-resistant bacterium isolated from soil

Strain SDU3-2 T was isolated from a soil sample collected in Shandong Province, PR China. Cells of SDU3-2 T were spherical, Gram-stain-positive, aerobic and non-motile. Cellular growth of the strain occurred at 25–45 °C, pH 5.5–8.5 and with 0–1.5 % (w/v) of NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SDU3-2 T was closest to the type strain Deinococcus murrayi ALT-1b T with a similarity of 95.2 %. The draft genome was 3.49 Mbp long with 69.2 mol% G+C content. Strain SDU3-2 T exhibited high resistance to gamma radiation (D 10 >12 kGy) and UV (D 10 >900 J m −2 ). The strain encoded many genes for resistance to radiation and oxidative stress, which were highly conserved with other Deinococcus species, but possessed interspecific properties. The major fatty acids of SDU3-2 T cells were C 15 : 1  ω 6 c , C 16 : 1  ω 7 c /C 16 : 1  ω 6 c , and C 17 : 1  ω 8 c , the major menaquinone was menaquinone-8, and the major polar lipids were an unidentified phosphoglycolipid, four unidentified glycolipids and an unidentified phospholipid. The average nucleotide identity and DNA–DNA hybridization results further indicated that strain SDU3-2 T represents a new species in the genus Deinococcus , for which the name Deinococcus terrestris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SDU3-2 T (=CGMCC 1.17147 T =KCTC 43098 T ).