Gordonia lacunae sp. nov., isolated from an estuary.

An actinomycete, strain BS2T, was isolated from a sand sample collected from an estuary in Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities and chemotaxonomy, strain BS2T was identified as a member of the genus Gordonia. It exhibited weak antibiosis against Mycobacterium aurum A+ and Mycobacterium smegmatis LR222. Phenotypic and phylogenetic results allowed for the differentiation of strain BS2T from other species within the genus Gordonia. DNA-DNA hybridization further differentiated strain BS2T from its nearest phylogenetic neighbour, Gordonia terrae NRRL B-16283T (57.5+/-4.4% DNA relatedness). Strain BS2T is therefore a novel species within the genus Gordonia, for which the name Gordonia lacunae is proposed, with the type strain being BS2T (=DSM 45085T=NRRL B-24551T).