Delftia tsuruhatensis sp. nov., a terephthalate-assimilating bacterium isolated from activated sludge

1 Department of Materials and Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto-City, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan 2 Department of Bioengineering, Yatsushiro National College of Technology, 2627 Hirayama-shinmachi, Yatsushiro, Kumamoto 866-8501, Japan 3 Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto-City, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan Correspondence Toru Shigematsu shige{at}kumamoto-u.ac.jp A terephthalate-assimilating bacterium was isolated from activated sludge collected from a domestic wastewater treatment plant in Japan by enrichment with terephthalate as sole carbon source. The isolate, designated strain T7 T , was a Gram-negative, short rod-shaped micro-organism. A phylogenetic study based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain T7 T should be placed in the genus Delftia . A DNA–DNA hybridization value of 69 % was determined between strain T7 T and Delftia acidovorans ATCC 15668 T . Major cellular fatty acids of strain T7 T were C 16 : 0 , C 16 : 1 and C 18 : 1 . Substantial amounts of cyclopropanoic acid (C 17 : 0 ), 3-OH C 10 : 0 , C 12 : 0 , C 15 : 0 and C 14 : 0 were also detected. The total DNA G+C content of strain T7 T was 66·2 mol%. Strain T7 T could utilize the following compounds as carbon sources: acetamide, -alanine, citrate, D -fructose, glycerol, isobutyrate, isophthalate, D (-)-mannitol, maleate, malonate, phenylacetate, propionate, protocatechuate, terephthalate, D -tryptophan and L -tryptophan. Comparisons of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics with other known species belonging to the genus Delftia suggest that strain T7 T represents a novel species, for which the name Delftia tsuruhatensis sp. nov. is proposed; strain T7 T is the type strain (=IFO 16741 T =ATCC BAA-554 T ). Abbreviations: MLSS, mixed liquor suspended solids; PET, polyethylene terephthalate; TERDOS, terephthalate 1,2-dioxygenase system; TOC, total organic carbon Published online ahead of print on 20 June 2003 as DOI 10.1099/ijs.0.02285-0. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain T7 T is AB075017 .