Deinococcus aetherius sp. nov., isolated from the stratosphere

A pink-red pigmented, non-motile, coccoid bacterial strain, ST0316(T), was isolated from dust samples collected from the stratosphere in Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that it belonged to the genus Deinococcus. DNA G+C content (69.8 mol%), desiccation tolerance, and resistance to gamma-rays [D(10) (dose required to reduce the bacterial population by 10-fold) >8 kGy] and UV radiation (D(10) 1000 J m(-2)) supported the affiliation of strain ST0316(T) to the genus Deinococcus. The major peptidoglycan amino acids were d-glutamic acid, glycine, d-alanine, l-alanine and ornithine. Predominant fatty acids were C(16 : 1)omega7c, C(16 : 0), C(17 : 0) and iso-C(17 : 0). Strain ST0316(T) diverged from recognized species of the genus Deinococcus, showing less than 93.0 % similarity values to its closest relatives Deinococcus apachensis, D. aerius, D. geothermalis and D. murrayi. Strain ST0316(T) also differed from the type strains of closely related species in its polar lipid profile, nitrate reduction and carbon-source assimilation tests. Therefore, we propose a new species of the genus Deinococcus, Deinococcus aetherius sp. nov. (type strain, ST0316(T) =JCM 11751(T) =DSM 21230(T)).