Acinetobacter radioresistens sp. nov. Isolated from Cotton and Soil

Abstract

A new species of Acinetobacter, Acinetobacter radioresistens, is proposed for three radiation-resistant Acinetobacter strains which were isolated from samples of cotton and soil. This species is phenotypically, genetically, and enzymatically distinguished from other Acinetobacter species. Strains of this species are gram-negative, oxidase-negative, nonsporeforming, nonmotile, nonfermentative, aerobic, pleomorphic coccobacilli and produce no acid from saccharides; they assimilated 16 of the 52 carbon sources which we examined. The radiation-resistant Acinetobacter strains had little deoxyribonucleic acid homology (15 to 44%) with other Acinetobacter strains and showed a different pattern from other Acinetobacter strains on electrophoretic analysis of enzymes. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the deoxyribonucleic acids are 44.1 to 44.8 mol%. The major cellular fatty acids are C18:1, C16:1 and C16:0, and the ubiquinone system is Q-9. The type strain of this species is strain FO-1 (= IAM 13186).