Chemotaxonomic characterisation of Sphingomonas

Abstract

Based on published results and investigations done for this study, chemotaxonomic characteristics of all validly described species of the genus Sphingomonas, as well as unnamed strains of this genus and related genera such as Rhizomonas and Blastomonas, are presented. All representatives of this group, here designated as sphingomonads, contain ubiquinone (Q-10). The two different polyamine patterns characterized either by the predominant polyamine sym-homospermidine or spermidine separate the sphingomonads into two major groups. Complex polar lipid profiles were found in sphingomonads in addition to the characteristic compound sphingoglycolipid. Identical profiles were found only in a few phylogenetically highly related species. Common to all sphingomonads is a fatty acid composition with 2-hydroxy fatty acids (14:0 2OH in all currently recognized species) and the lack of 3-hydroxy acids, which distinguishes them from taxa outside this group. Qualitative and quantitative differences in the fatty acid compositions, in several cases, were also suitable for identification at the species level. Thus, the differences in the chemotaxonomic characteristics demonstrate that the analyses of these low molecular weight cell compounds are suitable for classification of sphingomonads.

Aurantimonas coralicida gen. nov., sp. nov., the causative agent of white plague type II on Caribbean scleractinian corals

“…The N-methylated PE derivatives PME, PDE and PC are of considerable taxonomic interest. Most of the bacteria described to contain N-methylated derivatives of PE are actinomycetes or are Gram-negatives, particularly bacteria belonging to the class 'Alphaproteobacteria' (Wilkinson, 1988;Busse et al, 1999). The polar lipid compositions of members of the 'Rhizobiales' lineage are not entirely clear.…”

“…Ubiquinones were the sole respiratory lipoquinones detected, with Q-10 predominating (99 %); Q-9 was present in minor amounts (1 %). This quinone profile is characteristic of the majority of species within the class 'Alphaproteobacteria' (Collins & Jones, 1981;Yokota et al, 1992;Busse et al, 1999). Fingerprinting of the cellular lipids by two-dimensional TLC revealed a complex composition consisting of diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME), phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine (PDE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and several unidentified lipids (Fig.…”

Sphingobium olei sp. nov., isolated from oil-contaminated soil

“…They contain ubiquinone Q-10 as the main respiratory quinone and spermidine as the major polyamine. The polar lipid pattern consists of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, sphingoglycolipid, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine (Busse et al, 1999;Stolz et al, 2000;Pal et al, 2005;Prakash & Lal, 2006;Wittich et al, 2007). Members of the genus Sphingobium represent environmental isolates that play an important role in the bioremediation and biodegradation of pollutants.…”

Sphingobium chinhatense sp. nov., a hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)-degrading bacterium isolated from an HCH dumpsite

“…The major fatty acids were C 18 : 1 v7c (49.1 %), C 14 : 0 2-OH (13.95 %) and C 16 : 0 (13.2 %), a common feature of the genus Sphingobium (Takeuchi et al, 2001). The presence of C 14 : 0 2-OH, and sometimes other 2-hydroxy fatty acids, and a lack of 3-hydroxy fatty acids are common features of the sphingomonads (Busse et al, 1999). The fatty acid profile of strain IP26 T showed minor qualitative and quantitative differences from S. francense Sp+ T , S. japonicum UT26 T and S. indicum B90A T , but major differences from other phylogenetically distinct species (Supplementary Table S1).…”

“…Both spermine and spermidine were identified as polyamines in strain IP26 T . Spermidine was the major polyamine, which is a characteristic feature of the genus Sphingobium (Busse et al, 1999;Takeuchi et al, 2001). Only ubiquinone Q-10 was found in strain IP26 T .…”