A Gram-positive, aerobic actinomycete, designated strain YIM 45725 T , was isolated from a forest soil sample in Yunnan Province, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate was a member of the family Nocardioidaceae and was related most closely to Actinopolymorpha singaporensis IM 7744 T (99.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). Chemotaxonomic data, including cell-wall components, menaquinones and polar lipids, supported the affiliation of strain YIM 45725 T to the genus Actinopolymorpha. The results of physiological and biochemical investigations and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments demonstrated that strain YIM 45725 T differed from the single recognized species of the genus Actinopolymorpha. Strain YIM 45725 T is therefore considered to represent a novel species of the genus Actinopolymorpha, for which the name Actinopolymorpha rutila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 45725 T (5CCTCC AA 206004 T 5DSM 18448 T ).The genus Actinopolymorpha was established by Wang et al. (2001) and it was placed within the family Nocardioidaceae (Nesterenko et al., 1985). At the time of writing, the family Nocardioidaceae comprises the genera Nocardioides Prauser et al. 1976 (type genus), Aeromicrobium Miller et al. 1991, Kribbella Park et al. 1999, Marmoricola Urzì et al. 2000, Actinopolymorpha Wang et al. 2001 and Jiangella Song et al. 2005. During the course of research into unknown actinomycetes, an Actinopolymorpha-like strain (YIM 45725 T ) was isolated from a forest soil collected in Yunnan Province, south-west China. In order to determine the taxonomic position of this organism, we investigated its morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics and analysed its chemotaxonomic composition and 16S rRNA gene sequence. The results indicated that strain YIM 45725 T represents a novel species of the genus Actinopolymorpha.Cultural characteristics of strain YIM 45725 T were determined by using 14-day-old cultures grown at 28 u C on International Streptomyces Project (ISP; Shirling & Gottlieb, 1966) media 2, 3, 4 and 5, Czapek's agar plates (Pridham & Lyons, 1980), potato agar and nutrient agar. Colony colour was determined based on Kelly (1964). Morphological observations of cultures after incubation at 28 u C for 12 and 30 days on ISP 2 medium were made by light microscopy (BH-2; Olympus) and scanning electron microscopy (XL30; Philips).Strain YIM 45725 T had morphological properties consistent with those of the genus Actinopolymorpha. The novel isolate formed branched hyphae of uneven thickness that fragmented into short chains or aggregates in the early stages of growth. The branched substrate mycelia later exhibited varied degrees of fragmentation, with short to elongated rod-like elements or V-shaped elements, and in the later stages of growth, poorly formed aerial hyphae were observed on ISP 2 medium. Spores or sporangia were not observed (see Supplementary Fig. S1 in IJSEM Online). Colonies developed on the tested media within 3-4 days were raised...