Strains 449T and 622 are both aerobic, Gram-stain-positive, short, rod-shaped bacilli that were recently isolated from the faeces of Tibetan antelopes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences were most similar to those of Mycetocola zhadangensis ZD1-4T(97.9-98.0 %) and Mycetocola miduiensis CGMCC 1.11101T(97.3-97.4 %). Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences further suggested that strains 449T and 622 represent a new lineage within the genus Mycetocola. The G+C content of strain 449T is 64.9 mol%. Optimal growth was achieved at pH 7.0 and 28 °C. Cells contained anteiso-C15 : 0 as the major cellular fatty acid, MK-10 and MK-11 as predominant menaquinones, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol as major polar lipids, and lysine as the diagnostic diamino acid. The DNA-DNA hybridization values of strains 449T and 622 were below the 70 % cut-off with respect to known strains of the genus Mycetocola. Based on these genotypic, phenotypic and biochemical characteristics, it seems rational to conclude that strains 449T and 622 belong to the genus Mycetocola and thus represent a novel species, for which the name Mycetocola zhujimingii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 449T (=CGMCC 1.16372T=DSM 106173T).
Keywords: Mycetocola; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; Tibetan antelope; novel species.