Dietzia schimae sp. nov. and Dietzia cercidiphylli sp. nov., from surface-sterilized plant tissues

Genome of Dietzia cinnamea 55, a desert-isolated microbe with plant growth-promoting properties for grain crops

Here, we report the genome sequence of Dietzia cinnamea 55, isolated from the Negev Desert, Israel. D. cinnamea 55 was found to promote the growth of several cereal crops (corn, wheat, and pearl millet) in greenhouse and field studies.

Effects of in situ Fe oxide precipitation on As stabilization and soil ecological resilience under salt stress

Iron (Fe) oxide precipitation is a promising method for stabilizing arsenic (As) in contaminated soils; however, the addition of salts during the process can negatively affect soil functions. This study investigated the effects of in situ Fe oxide precipitation on As stabilization and the impact of salt stress on soil functions and microbial communities. Fe oxide precipitation reduced the concentration of bioaccessible As by 84% in the stabilized soil, resulting in the formation of ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite, as confirmed by XANES. Nevertheless, an increase in salt stress reduced barley development, microbial enzyme activities, and microbial diversity compared to those in the original soil. Despite this, the stabilized soil exhibited natural resilience and potential for enhanced microbial adaptations, with increased retention of salt-tolerant bacteria. Washing the stabilized soil with water restored EC1:5 to the level of the original soil, resulting in increased barley growth rates and enzyme activities after 5-d and 20-week incubation periods, suggesting soil function recovery. 16 S rRNA sequencing revealed the retention of salt-tolerant bacteria in the stabilized soil, while salt-removed soil exhibited an increase in Proteobacteria, which could facilitate ecological functions. Overall, Fe oxide precipitation effectively stabilized soil As and exhibited potential for restoring the natural resilience and ecological functions of soils through microbial adaptations and salt removal.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic diversity of actinomycetota species isolated from Lake Natron sediments at Arusha, Tanzania

Soda lakes are naturally occurring ecosystems characterized by extreme environmental conditions especially high pH and salinity levels but harboring valuable microbial communities with medical and biotechnological potentials. Lake Natron is one of the soda lakes situated in eastern branch of the East African Gregory Rift valley, Tanzania. In this study, the taxonomy and phylogenetic diversity of Actinomycetota species were explored in Lake Natron using molecular techniques. The sequencing of their 16S rRNA gene resulted into 13 genera of phylum Actinomycetota namely Streptomyces, Microbacterium, Nocardiopsis, Gordonia, Dietzia, Micromonospora, Microcella, Pseudarthrobacter, Nocardioides, Actinotalea, Cellulomonas, Isoptericola, and Glutamicibacter. We describe for the first time, the isolation of Streptomyces lasalocidi, S. harbinensis, S. anthocyanicus, Microbacterium aureliae, Pseudarthrobacter sp., Nocardioides sp. and Glutamicibacter mishrai from soda lake habitats. It also reports for the first time, the isolation of Gordonia spp., Microcella sp. and Actinotalea sp. from an East African Soda Lake as well as isolation of S. pseudogriseolus, S. calidiresistens and Micromonospora spp. from a Tanzania soda lake. Furthermore, two putative novel species of the phylum Actinomycetota were identified. Given that Actinomycetota are known potential sources of important biotechnological compounds, we recommend the broadening of the scope of bioprospection in future to include the novel species from Lake Natron.

Comparative genomic analysis of the Dietzia genus: an insight into genomic diversity, and adaptation

Dietzia strains are widely distributed in the environment, presenting an opportunistic role, and some species have undetermined taxonomic characteristics. Here, we propose the existence of errors in the classification of species in this genus using comparative genomics. We performed ANI, dDDH, pangenome and genomic plasticity analyses better to elucidate the phylogenomic relationships between Dietzia strains. For this, we used 55 genomes of Dietzia downloaded from public databases that were combined with a newly sequenced. Sequence analysis of a phylogenetic tree based on genome similarity comparisons and dDDH, ANI analyses supported grouping different Dietzia species into four distinct groups. The pangenome analysis corroborated the classification of these groups, supporting the idea that some species of Dietzia could be reassigned in a possible classification into three distinct species, each containing less variability than that found within the global pangenome of all strains. Additionally, analysis of genomic plasticity based on groups containing Dietzia strains found differences in the presence and absence of symbiotic Islands and pathogenic islands related to their isolation site. We propose that the comparison of pangenome subsets together with phylogenomic approaches can be used as an alternative for the classification and differentiation of new species of the genus Dietzia.

The Roles of the Two-Component System, MtrAB, in Response to Diverse Cell Envelope Stresses in Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b

Two-component systems (TCSs) act as common regulatory systems allowing bacteria to detect and respond to multiple environmental stimuli, including cell envelope stress. The MtrAB TCS of Actinobacteria is critical for cell wall homeostasis, cell proliferation, osmoprotection, and antibiotic resistance, and thus is found to be highly conserved across this phylum. However, how precisely the MtrAB TCS regulates cellular homeostasis in response to environmental stress remains unclear. Here, we show that the MtrAB TCS plays an important role in the tolerance to different types of cell envelope stresses, including environmental stresses (i.e., oxidative stress, lysozyme, SDS, osmotic pressure, and alkaline pH stresses) and envelope-targeting antibiotics (i.e., isoniazid, ethambutol, glycopeptide, and β-lactam antibiotics) in Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b. An mtrAB mutant strain exhibited slower growth compared to the wild-type strain and was characterized by abnormal cell shapes when exposed to various environmental stresses. Moreover, deletion of mtrAB resulted in decreased resistance to isoniazid, ethambutol, and β-lactam antibiotics. Further, Cleavage under targets and tagmentation sequencing (CUT&Tag-seq) and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) revealed that MtrA binds the promoters of genes involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis (ldtB, ldtA, murJ), hydrolysis (GJR88_03483, GJR88_4713), and cell division (ftsE). Together, our findings demonstrated that the MtrAB TCS is essential for the survival of Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b under various cell envelope stresses, primarily by controlling multiple downstream cellular pathways. Our work suggests that TCSs act as global sensors and regulators in maintaining cellular homeostasis, such as during episodes of various environmental stresses. The present study should shed light on the understanding of mechanisms for bacterial adaptivity to extreme environments.

IMPORTANCE The multilayered cell envelope is the first line of bacterial defense against various extreme environments. Bacteria utilize a large number of sensing and regulatory systems to maintain cell envelope homeostasis under multiple stress conditions. The two-component system (TCS) is the main sensing and responding apparatus for environmental adaptation. The MtrAB TCS highly conserved in Actinobacteria is critical for cell wall homeostasis, cell proliferation, osmoprotection, and antibiotic resistance. However, how MtrAB works with regard to signals impacting changes to the cell envelope is not fully understood. Here, we found that in the Actinobacterium Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b, a TCS named MtrAB is pivotal for ensuring normal cell growth as well as maintaining proper cell morphology in response to various cell envelope stresses, namely, by regulating the expression of cell envelope-related genes. Our findings should greatly advance our understanding of the adaptive mechanisms responsible for maintaining cell integrity in times of sustained environmental shocks.

Aerobic biotransformation of 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate by Dietzia aurantiaca J3 under sulfur-limiting conditions

The polyfluorinated alkyl substance 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS) has been detected in diverse environments impacted by aqueous film-forming foams used for firefighting. In this study, a bacterial strain (J3) using 6:2 FTS as a sulfur source was isolated from landfill leachate previously exposed to polyfluoroalkyl substances in New South Wales, Australia. Strain J3 shares 99.9% similarity with the 16S rRNA gene of Dietzia aurantiaca CCUG 35676^T. Genome sequencing yielded a draft genome sequence of 37 contigs with a G + C content of 69.7%. A gene cluster related to organic sulfur utilisation and assimilation was identified, that included an alkanesulfonate monooxygenase component B (ssuD), an alkanesulfonate permease protein (ssuC), an ABC transporter (ssuB), and an alkanesulfonate-binding protein (ssuA). Proteomic analyses comparing strain J3 cultures using sulfate and 6:2 FTS as sulfur source indicated that the ssu gene cluster was involved in 6:2 FTS biodegradation. Upregulated proteins included the SsuD monooxygenase, the SsuB transporter, the ABC transporter permease (SsuC), an alkanesulfonate-binding protein (SsuA), and a nitrilotriacetate monooxygenase component B. 6:2 Fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (6:2 FTCA) and 6:2 fluorotelomer unsaturated acid (6:2 FTUA) were detected as early degradation products in cultures (after 72 h) while 5:3 fluorotelomer acid (5:3 FTCA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) were detected as later degradation products (after 168 h). This work provides biochemical and metabolic insights into 6:2 FTS biodegradation by the Actinobacterium D. aurantiaca J3, informing the fate of PFAS in the environment.

Profiling Airborne Microbiota in Mechanically Ventilated Buildings Across Seasons in Hong Kong Reveals Higher Metabolic Activity in Low-Abundance Bacteria

Metabolically active bacteria within built environments are poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the active airborne bacterial microbiota and compare the total and active microbiota in eight mechanically ventilated buildings over four consecutive seasons using the 16S rRNA gene (rDNA) and the 16S rRNA (rRNA), respectively. The relative abundances of the taxa of presumptive occupants and environmental origins were significantly different between the active and total microbiota. The Sloan neutral model suggested that ecological drift and random dispersal played a smaller role in the assembly of the active microbiota than the total microbiota. The seasonal nature of the active microbiota was consistent with that of the total microbiota in both indoor and outdoor environments, while only the indoor environment was significantly affected by geography. The relative abundances of the active and total taxa were positively correlated, suggesting that the high-abundance members were also the greatest contributors to the community-level metabolic activity. Based on the rRNA/rDNA ratio, the low-abundance members consistently had a higher taxon-level metabolic activity than the high-abundance members over seasons, suggesting that the low-abundance members may have the ability to survive and thrive in the indoor environment and their impact on the health of occupants cannot be overlooked.

Pan-genomic analysis reveals that the evolution of Dietzia species depends on their living habitats

The bacterial genus Dietzia is widely distributed in various environments. The genomes of 26 diverse strains of Dietzia, including almost all the type strains, were analysed in this study. This analysis revealed a lipid metabolism gene richness, which could explain the ability of Dietzia to live in oil related environments. The pan-genome consists of 83,976 genes assigned into 10,327 gene families, 792 of which are shared by all the genomes of Dietzia. Mathematical extrapolation of the data suggests that the Dietzia pan-genome is open. Both gene duplication and gene loss contributed to the open pan-genome, while horizontal gene transfer was limited. Dietzia strains primarily gained their diverse metabolic capacity through more ancient gene duplications. Phylogenetic analysis of Dietzia isolated from aquatic and terrestrial environments showed two distinct clades from the same ancestor. The genome sizes of Dietzia strains from aquatic environments were significantly larger than those from terrestrial environments, which was mainly due to the occurrence of more gene loss events during the evolutionary progress of the strains from terrestrial environments. The evolutionary history of Dietzia was tightly coupled to environmental conditions, and iron concentrations should be one of the key factors shaping the genomes of the Dietzia lineages.

Genome-Based Taxonomic Classification of the Phylum Actinobacteria

The application of phylogenetic taxonomic procedures led to improvements in the classification of bacteria assigned to the phylum Actinobacteria but even so there remains a need to further clarify relationships within a taxon that encompasses organisms of agricultural, biotechnological, clinical, and ecological importance. Classification of the morphologically diverse bacteria belonging to this large phylum based on a limited number of features has proved to be difficult, not least when taxonomic decisions rested heavily on interpretation of poorly resolved 16S rRNA gene trees. Here, draft genome sequences of a large collection of actinobacterial type strains were used to infer phylogenetic trees from genome-scale data using principles drawn from phylogenetic systematics. The majority of taxa were found to be monophyletic but several orders, families, and genera, as well as many species and a few subspecies were shown to be in need of revision leading to proposals for the recognition of 2 orders, 10 families, and 17 genera, as well as the transfer of over 100 species to other genera. In addition, emended descriptions are given for many species mainly involving the addition of data on genome size and DNA G+C content, the former can be considered to be a valuable taxonomic marker in actinobacterial systematics. Many of the incongruities detected when the results of the present study were compared with existing classifications had been recognized from 16S rRNA gene trees though whole-genome phylogenies proved to be much better resolved. The few significant incongruities found between 16S/23S rRNA and whole genome trees underline the pitfalls inherent in phylogenies based upon single gene sequences. Similarly good congruence was found between the discontinuous distribution of phenotypic properties and taxa delineated in the phylogenetic trees though diverse non-monophyletic taxa appeared to be based on the use of plesiomorphic character states as diagnostic features.

Lipids of Dietzia sp. A14101. Part II: A study of the dynamics of the release of surface active compounds by Dietzia sp. A14101 into the medium

Dietzia sp. A14101 isolated from an oil reservoir model column was found to induce a strong decrease of the interfacial tension (IFT) in hydrocarbon-water mixtures in the presence of the intact bacterial cells (Kowalewski et al., 2005). The strain was shown to be able to degrade a wide range of hydrocarbon substrates (Bødtker et al., 2009). Further studies showed that the surface-active compounds tentatively identified as glycolipids were produced by Dietzia sp. A14101 on non- and water-immiscible -hydrocarbon substrates, Part I (Hvidsten et al., 2017). The results suggested that biosurfactant (BS) was a mixture of several isomers. The study presented here is aimed to investigate whether BS are secreted into the aqueous medium, and if so, then at which phase of the culture growth and in which amounts - the dynamics of the BS release in incubations on water-immiscible hydrocarbons. Two methods of BS extraction from the medium were attempted and compared: a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and precipitation by acid. For qualitative and semi-quantitative assessment, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), thin-layer chromatography (TLC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), surface tension measurements (SFT), emulsification (E₂₄) and oil-spreading tests were employed. The results indicated that BS only partially were secreted into the medium. Detectable amounts of glycolipids in media were first identified during the exponential growth phase. However, only a slight decrease of SFT was observed in the cell-free medium. The emulsification index values of the sampled material were lower than those reported for related strains. The results suggested that most of the BS produced by Dietzia sp. A14101 remains cell-bound during the culture development in a batch mode and only a narrow range of the BS isomers can be detected in small amounts in media.

Diversity and bioprospecting of actinomycete endophytes from the medicinal plants

The endophytic actinomycetes constitute one of the fascinating group of microorganisms associated with a wide range of plant species. The diversity of actinomycetes in plants and their tissue parts is a matter of debate as no consensus are derived between individual studies. Nevertheless, their diversity correlates with the occurrence in plant species harboured in unique regions of biologically diverse areas called "hot spots." Recent advances in the isolation techniques have facilitated the isolation of rare taxa from these environments. The biosynthetic ability of the endophytic actinomycetes has proven beyond doubt that these organisms have the potential to synthesize an array of compounds with novelty in structure and bioactivity and as a result are preferred in the natural product screening programs. In the years to come, the scientific world may await to discover many more novel actinomycete taxa with metabolic diversity and applications in therapeutics.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

"Endophytes" - the microbes residing in the living tissues of plants are virtually omnipresent. Actinomycete endophytes are diverse in distribution within plant tissues, especially in the roots as they have a close association with the rhizhosphere. An introspection into diversity studies necessitates careful sampling, analysis, and isolation data from the biodiverse and nonbiodiverse regions represented by unique environments. The key to the recovery of novel species and their bioprospection lies in these regions.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria Dietzia natronolimnaea modulates the expression of stress responsive genes providing protection of wheat from salinity stress

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) hold promising future for sustainable agriculture. Here, we demonstrate a carotenoid producing halotolerant PGPR Dietzia natronolimnaea STR1 protecting wheat plants from salt stress by modulating the transcriptional machinery responsible for salinity tolerance in plants. The expression studies confirmed the involvement of ABA-signalling cascade, as TaABARE and TaOPR1 were upregulated in PGPR inoculated plants leading to induction of TaMYB and TaWRKY expression followed by stimulation of expression of a plethora of stress related genes. Enhanced expression of TaST, a salt stress-induced gene, associated with promoting salinity tolerance was observed in PGPR inoculated plants in comparison to uninoculated control plants. Expression of SOS pathway related genes (SOS1 and SOS4) was modulated in PGPR-applied wheat shoots and root systems. Tissue-specific responses of ion transporters TaNHX1, TaHAK, and TaHKT1, were observed in PGPR-inoculated plants. The enhanced gene expression of various antioxidant enzymes such as APX, MnSOD, CAT, POD, GPX and GR and higher proline content in PGPR-inoculated wheat plants contributed to increased tolerance to salinity stress. Overall, these results indicate that halotolerant PGPR-mediated salinity tolerance is a complex phenomenon that involves modulation of ABA-signalling, SOS pathway, ion transporters and antioxidant machinery.

Fatty acids in bacterium Dietzia sp. grown on simple and complex hydrocarbons determined as FAME by GC-MS

The influence of growth substrates on the fatty acids produced by Dietzia sp. A14101 has been studied to investigate how qualitative and semi-quantitative information on fatty acids correlates with the ability of this strain to access and utilize a wide range of water-immiscible HC-substrates by modifying the FA content and thus also the properties of the cellular membrane. After incubation on different substrates and media, the profiles of fatty acids (FA) were analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The equivalent chain length (ECL) index calibration system was employed to identify FA. The effect of each substrate on the cell surface charge and on the hydrophobicity of the cellular membrane was also investigated. The results indicate that the variation of the content of saturated fatty acids (SAT-FA) versus mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) was found to be the most pronounced while branched FA exhibited much less variation in spite of different substrate regimes. The regulation of the ratio of SAT-FA and MUFA seems to be coupled with the regulation of the charge and hydrophobicity of the outer cellular surface. The exposure to a water immiscible substrate led to the development of the negative cellular surface charge, production of carotenoid-type pigments and increased hydrophobicity of the cellular surface. The specific aspects of the adaptation mechanism could have implications for bioremediation and/or (M)EOR applications.

Biotechnological application and taxonomical distribution of plant growth promoting actinobacteria

Plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria are involved in various interactions known to affect plant fitness and soil quality, thereby increasing the productivity of agriculture and stability of soil. Although the potential of actinobacteria in antibiotic production is well-investigated, their capacity to enhance plant growth is not fully surveyed. Due to the following justifications, PGP actinobacteria (PGPA) can be considered as a more promising taxonomical group of PGP bacteria: (1) high numbers of actinobacteria per gram of soil and their filamentous nature, (2) genome dedicated to the secondary metabolite production (~5 to 10 %) is distinctively more than that of other bacteria and (3) number of plant growth promoter genera reported from actinobacteria is 1.3 times higher than that of other bacteria. Mechanisms by which PGPA contribute to the plant growth by association are: (a) enhancing nutrients availability, (b) regulation of plant metabolism, (c) decreasing environmental stress, (d) control of phytopathogens and (e) improvement of soil texture. Taxonomical and chemical diversity of PGPA and their biotechnological application along with their associated challenges are summarized in this paper.

Dietzia aurantiaca sp. nov., isolated from a human clinical specimen

A Gram-positive, coccoid, non-endospore-forming actinobacterium (strain CCUG 35676T) was isolated from cerebrospinal fluid from a 24-year-old woman in Gothenborg, Sweden. Based on pairwise 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies, strain CCUG 35676T was shown to belong to the genus Dietzia and was most closely related to the type strains of Dietzia aerolata (99.3 %), Dietzia lutea (98.8 %), Dietzia schimae (98.5 %), Dietzia maris (98.5 %), Dietzia alimentaria (98.3 %) and Dietzia cercidiphylli (98.0 %). The major menaquinone was MK-8(H2). Major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, an unidentified aminophospholipid (APL1), an unidentified phospholipid (PL1) and unidentified glycolipids (GL1 and GL3). Numerous other lipids were also detected. The fatty acid profile, comprising C16 : 0, C17 : 0, C18 : 1ω9c and 10-methyl-C18 : 0 as major fatty acids, supported the affiliation of strain CCUG 35676T to the genus Dietzia. On the basis of the results of physiological and biochemical tests and DNA–DNA hybridizations, a clear phenotypic and genotypic differentiation of strain CCUG 35676T from the most closely related Dietzia species is possible. Strain CCUG 35676T represents a novel species, for which the name Dietzia aurantiaca sp. nov. is proposed, with CCUG 35676T ( = JCM 17645T) as the type strain.

Draft genome sequence of Dietzia alimentaria 72T, belonging to the family Dietziaceae, isolated from a traditional Korean food

Actinobacterial strain 72(T), named Dietzia alimentaria, which belongs to the family Dietziaceae, was isolated from a traditional Korean food made from clams. The draft genome sequence of D. alimentaria 72(T) contains 3,352,817 bp, with a G+C content of 67.34%.

Dietzia alimentaria sp. nov., isolated from a traditional Korean food

An actinobacterial strain, designated 72T, was isolated from a traditional salt-fermented seafood in Korea. Colonies were coral red and cells were Gram-reaction-positive, non-motile rods. Strain 72T grew with 0–10 % (w/v) NaCl, at pH 7–10 and at 15–37 °C. Optimum growth conditions were 2 % NaCl, pH 7.0 and 30 °C. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain 72T belonged to the genus Dietzia. The major cellular fatty acids (>5 %) were C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c), 10-methyl C18 : 0, C17 : 0, C19 : 0 and C18 : 1ω9c. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and DNA–DNA hybridization, coupled with physiological and biochemical tests, revealed genotypic and phenotypic differences between strain 72T and other members of the genus Dietzia. Based on these data, strain 72T represents a novel species, for which the name Dietzia alimentaria sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 72T ( = JCM 16360T  = KACC 21126T).

Bioprospecting microbial natural product libraries from the marine environment for drug discovery

Marine microorganisms are fascinating resources due to their production of novel natural products with antimicrobial activities. Increases in both the number of new chemical entities found and the substantiation of indigenous marine actinobacteria present a fundamental difficulty in the future discovery of novel antimicrobials, namely dereplication of those compounds already discovered. This review will share our experience on the taxonomic-based construction of a highly diversified and low redundant marine microbial natural product library for high-throughput antibiotic screening. We anticipate that libraries such as these can drive the drug discovery process now and in the future.

Dietzia aerolata sp. nov., isolated from the air of a duck barn, and emended description of the genus Dietzia Rainey et al. 1995

A Gram-stain-positive, coccoid, non-endospore-forming actinobacterium (Sj14aT) was isolated from the air of a duck barn on tryptone soy agar after filter sampling. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies, strain Sj14aT was shown to belong to the genus Dietzia and was most closely related to Dietzia schimae (98.7 %), Dietzia cercidiphylli (98.4 %) and Dietzia maris (98.6 %). The major menaquinone was MK-8 (H2). The polar lipid profile included the major components diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, an unknown polar lipid and two unknown glycolipids. Phosphatidylinositol and two phosphatidylinositol mannosides, as well as several other unknown lipids, were also detected. The polyamine pattern contained the major compounds spermine and spermidine. The fatty acid profile, containing C16 : 0, C17 : 0, C18 : 1 ω9c and 10-methyl C18 : 0 as major fatty acids, supported the affiliation of strain Sj14aT to the genus Dietzia. The results of physiological and biochemical tests and DNA–DNA hybridizations allowed a clear phenotypic differentiation of strain Sj14aT from the most closely related species of the genus Dietzia. Strain Sj14aT represents a novel species, for which the name Dietzia aerolata sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain Sj14aT (=DSM 45334T =CCM 7659T).

Isolation, diversity, and antimicrobial activity of rare actinobacteria from medicinal plants of tropical rain forests in Xishuangbanna, China

Endophytic actinobacteria are relatively unexplored as potential sources of novel species and novel natural products for medical and commercial exploitation. Xishuangbanna is recognized throughout the world for its diverse flora, especially the rain forest plants, many of which have indigenous pharmaceutical histories. However, little is known about the endophytic actinobacteria of this tropical area. In this work, we studied the diversity of actinobacteria isolated from medicinal plants collected from tropical rain forests in Xishuangbanna. By the use of different selective isolation media and methods, a total of 2,174 actinobacteria were isolated. Forty-six isolates were selected on the basis of their morphologies on different media and were further characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed an unexpected level of diversity, with 32 different genera. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the isolation of Saccharopolyspora, Dietzia, Blastococcus, Dactylosporangium, Promicromonospora, Oerskovia, Actinocorallia, and Jiangella species from endophytic environments. At least 19 isolates are considered novel taxa by our current research. In addition, all 46 isolates were tested for antimicrobial activity and were screened for the presence of genes encoding polyketide synthetases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases. The results confirm that the medicinal plants of Xishuangbanna represent an extremely rich reservoir for the isolation of a significant diversity of actinobacteria, including novel species, that are potential sources for the discovery of biologically active compounds.

Dietzia timorensis sp. nov., isolated from soil

An actinomycete strain, ID05-A0528(T), was isolated using the SDS-yeast extract pre-treatment method from soil under mahogany (Swietenia mahogani) trees in West Timor, Indonesia, and was examined by using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characterizations demonstrated that the novel strain belongs to the genus Dietzia. 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies showed that the strain was related to Dietzia cinnamea (97.2 %). Results of phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses determined that strain ID05-A0528(T) is different from the known species of the genus Dietzia. It is proposed that the isolate should be classified as a representative of a novel species of the genus Dietzia, with the name Dietzia timorensis sp. nov. The type strain is ID05-A0528(T) (=BTCC B-560(T) =NBRC 104184(T)).

The genus Dietzia: a new home for some known and emerging opportunist pathogens

The genus Dietzia has only been established fairly recently. The Gram morphology and colony appearance of the species of this genus is remarkably similar to Rhodococcus equi. In the absence of simple, accurate methods for their identification, Dietzia spp. might have been misidentified as a Rhodococcus spp. and/or considered to be contaminants only. This MiniReview is designed to summarize current evidence on the clinical significance of Dietzia species, to consider their potential role as human pathogens, and to outline approaches that can be used to accurately classify and identify members of the genus, with the overall aim of alerting the medical microbiological community to a little known genus that contains clinically significant organisms.