A new species, Nocardiopsis hubphila, is proposed. This species is represented by a single isolate obtained from a saline soil sample in Iraq. This organism grows in both synthetic and organic media containing concentrations of NaCl up to 20% (wt/vol) and is resistant to lysozyme. Whole-cell hydrolysates contain meso-diaminopimelic acid (cell wall type 111) and no diagnostic sugars (sugar pattern C). The phospholipid type is type PIII. The predominant menaquinone is MK-lO(H,,H,), and mycolic acids are absent. This organism forms abundant white aerial mycelia and long irregularly branched spore chains that have a zigzag appearance and fragment into spores of various lengths. The substrate mycelia are extensively branched and are rarely fragmented. These properties suggest that this bacterium should be placed in the genus Nocardiopsis. However, this organism differs from all previously described species of the genus Nocardiopsis in its ability to grow in the presence of 20% (wt/vol) NaCl and also in many other physiological and biochemical characteristics. Thus, we propose that this organism is a new species, Nocardiopsis halophila. Type strain IQ-H3 has been deposited in the Culture Collection

The taxonomic position of a streptomycete strain isolated from Malaysian soil was established using a polyphasic approach. The organism, designated strain ATB-1 lT, was found to have chemical and morphological properties consistent with its classification in the genus Streptomyces. An almost complete 16s rRNA gene (rDNA) sequence determined for the test strain was compared with those of previously studied streptomycetes by using two treeing algorithms. The 165 rDNA sequence data not only supported classification of the strain in the genus Sfreptomyces but also showed that it formed a distinct phyletic line. At maturity, the aerial hyphae of strain ATB-1 lT differentiated into tight, spiral chains of rugose, cylindrical spores. The organism was readily distinguished from representatives of validly described Sfreptomyces species with rugose spores by using a combination of phenotypic features. It is proposed, therefore, that strain ATB-llT be classified in the genus Streptomyces as St rep tomyces ma laysiensis s p . nov .

Halophilic actinomycete strains, IQ-HIT (T = type strain) and IQ-H2, were isolated from extremely saline soil samples in Iraq. Besides morphological properties, strains IQ-HIT and IQ-H2 have a type IV cell wall, type PI11 phospholipid, and menaquinone MK-9 (H4, H6), which are characteristic of Actinopolyspora spp. In addition, both strains required high concentrations of sodium chloride (10 to 15% [wt/vol] and 15 to 25% [wt/vol] NaCl, respectively), for optimal growth. However, strains IQ-HIT and IQ-H2 differed from other previously described species of the genus Actinopolyspora in cultural, morphological, and physiological characteristics. In addition, the size of the internal transcribed spacer in the rDNA (gene encoding rRNA) of IQ-HIT was different from those of known published species, while the size of the internal transcribed spacer of IQ-H2 was similar to that of ActinopoZyspora halophila JCM 327ST. Thus, we propose strain IQ-HIT as a new species and name it Actinopolyspora iraqiensis sp. nov. Strain IQ-HIT has been deposited in the culture collection

The taxonomic position of a thermophilic actinomycete strain isolated from poultry faeces was examined using a polyphasic approach. The isolate, designated B19 T , was assigned to the genus Streptomyces on the basis of chemotaxonomic and morphological criteria. An almost complete 16S rRNA gene (rDNA) sequence obtained for the test strain was compared with those of representative streptomycetes, notably thermophilic streptomycetes. 16S rDNA sequence data not only supported the assignment of the strain to the genus Streptomyces but also showed that the isolate formed a distinct phyletic line within the evolutionary branch composed of Streptomyces thermodiastaticus and related species. The strain was distinguished from related validly described Streptomyces species by a number of phenotypic properties. It is, therefore, proposed that strain B19 T be classified in the genus Streptomyces as Streptomyces thermocoprophilus sp. nov. Keywords :Streptomyces thermocoprophilus sp. nov., thermophilic streptomycetes, polyphasic taxonomy, xylanase production INTRODUCTIONMost thermophilic streptomycetes grow well at 50 mC and over the temperature range 25-55 mC. Representatives of these organisms have been distinguished from their better known mesophilic counterparts in numerical phenetic (Goodfellow et al., 1987 ; O'Donnell et al., 1993) and 16S rRNA sequencing studies (D. Kim et al., 1996 ;S. B. Kim et al., 1998 ;. It is apparent from the sequencing studies that thermophilic streptomycetes form at least two evolutionary clades and hence cannot be considered as a distinct taxon within the genus Streptomyces as proposed by Craveri & Pagani (1962). It is also clear that novel streptomycete species should be circumscribed using a judicious combination of genotypic and phenotypic data (Labeda et al., 1997 ;S. B. Kim et al., 1998 ;Miyajima et al., 1998 ; Abbreviation :A 2 pm, diaminopimelic acid.The EMBL accession number for the 16S rRNA sequence of strain B19 T is AJ007402.hibitors and pharmacologically active agents (Be! rdy, 1995). In a search for xylanase producing bacteria, a streptomycete-like organism, strain B19 T , was isolated from poultry faeces and shown to produce a cellulasefree endo-xylanase. In the present investigation, this organism was the subject of a polyphasic taxonomic study which showed that it formed a new centre of taxonomic variation within the genus Streptomyces. METHODSOrganism and cultural conditions. Strain B19 T was isolated on a yeast extract starch agar plate (Somasundaram, 1995), supplemented with nystatin (20 µg ml − "), which had been inoculated with a suspension of poultry faeces and incubated at 45 mC for 2-3 d ; the faeces sample was obtained from the poultry farm at the University of Malaya. The isolate was maintained on inorganic salt-starch agar (ISP medium 4, Difco ;Shirling & Gottlieb, 1966) at room temperature and as spore and hyphal suspensions in glycerol (20 %, v\v) at k20 mC. Biomass for the chemotaxonomic and molecular systematic analyses was prepared as described by B. . The p...