Six novel actinobacterial strains (BH034 T , BH055, BH097, BH104, BH105 and BH106 T ) were isolated from developing brood in nests of the solitary bee species Anthophora bomboides from Bodega Bay, California, USA. Phylogenetic analysis based on a five-gene multilocus sequence alignment and whole-genome data positions all six strains within the genus Streptomyces , with close relation to Streptomyces endophyticus YIM 65594 T and Streptomyces fractus MV32 T . Through genetic and chemotaxonomic analysis, five of the isolates (BH034 T , BH055, BH097, BH104 and BH105) were found to be a clade representing one species >96% average nucleotide identity (ANI), whereas BH106 T was a distinct species (<93% ANI with each of the other isolate genomes). Within this species (BH034 T -BH105), the genomes comprised on average 9.6 Mb (±0.4 Mb), encoded 8,640 (±349) predicted genes and had a G+C content of 70.9 (±0.07) mol%. The type strain, BH034 T , contained iso-C 16 : 0 , anteiso-C 15 : 0 and iso-C 15 : 0 as major fatty acids and contained ll -diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall. The remaining strain, BH106 T , represents a distinct species; its genome comprised 9.4 Mb, encoded 8,426 predicted genes and had a G+C content of 70.7 mol%; the major fatty acids were anteiso-C 15 : 0 , anteiso-C 17 : 0 , iso-C 17 : 0 and iso-C 15 : 0 , and the cell wall also contained ll -diaminopimelic acid. Functional genomic analysis revealed multiple secondary metabolite gene clusters in the bee-associated Streptomyces strains, several of which were found to be absent in closely related Streptomyces species. Based on genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses, strains BH034-BH105 and BH106 represent two novel species within the genus Streptomyces , for which the names Streptomyces anthophorae sp. nov. (type strain BH034 T =NRRL B-65741 T =DSM 119658 T ) and Streptomyces nidicola sp. nov. (type strain BH106 T =NRRL B-65742 T =DSM 119659 T ) are proposed.
Christensen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.