Corallococcus chalusensis sp. nov., a myxobacterium isolated from soil sample of Iran. Corallococcus chalusensis sp. nov.

A novel myxobacterium, strain ZKHCc1 1396T was isolated in 2017 from a soil sample collected from Chalus road, between Tehran and Mazandaran, Iran. It displayed general myxobacterial features like Gram-negative staining, rod shaped vegetative cells, gliding on solid surfaces, microbial lytic activity, fruiting-body formation and myxospore-like structures. The strain was mesophilic, aerobic and showed a chemoheterotrophic mode of nutrition. It was resistant to many antibiotics like ampicillin, bacitracin, fusidic acid, gentamicin, polymyxin, and trimethoprim, and the key fatty acids of whole-cell hydrolysates were iso-C15:0, iso-C17:1 isomer 2, iso-C17:0, and iso-C17:0 2-OH. The 16S rRNA gene sequence showed highest similarity (98.7 %) to Corallococcus exiguus DSM 14696T (GenBank accession no. DQ768121). The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) spectroscopy data supports a novel species of the family Myxococcaceae and the genus Corallococcus. DNA–DNA hybridization showed only about 40 % similarity between the novel strain and the above-mentioned next relative. Based on a comprehensive taxonomic study, we propose a novel species, Corallococcus chalusensis ZKHCc1 1396T (NCCB 100656T, CIP 111634T).