Mycobacterium pyrenivorans sp. nov., a novel polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbon-degrading species

1 Department of Ecology, Ecotoxicology and Ecochemistry, Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany 2 Unit of Applied Microbiology, Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany 3 Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, Mascheroder Weg 1b, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany Correspondence Reiner M. Kroppenstedt kdt{at}dsmz.de The taxonomic position of a polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium, strain 17A3 T , isolated from contaminated soil was determined using a combination of phenotypic and genotypic properties. The isolate showed phenotypic properties that were diagnostic for species of the genus Mycobacterium . Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis assigned 17A3 T to the 16S rRNA gene subgroup that contains Mycobacterium aurum , Mycobacterium austroafricanum , Mycobacterium vaccae and Mycobacterium vanbaalenii , but it could clearly be distinguished from these species using a combination of physiological, chemotaxonomic markers and internal rRNA gene spacer analyses. The data showed that strain 17A3 T (=DSM 44605 T =NRRL B-24244 T ) merits recognition as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Mycobacterium . The name Mycobacterium pyrenivorans sp. nov. is proposed for the species because of its ability to use pyrene as a sole source of carbon and energy. Abbreviations: PAH, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; RISA, rRNA gene internal spacer analysis Published online ahead of print on 30 July 2004 as DOI 10.1099/ijs.0.03003-0. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Mycobacterium pyrenivorans 17A3 T is AJ431371 .