Burkholderia kururiensis sp nov., a trichloroethylene (TCE)-degrading bacterium isolated from an aquifer polluted with TCE

A trichloroethylene (TCE)-degrading bacterium was isolated from an aquifer sample collected at a TCE-polluted site in Japan by enriching with phenol a s sole carbon source. The isolate, designated strain KP23(T), was a Gram-ne gative, oval-shaped micro-organism. A phylogenetic study based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain KP23(T) should be placed in the genus Burkholderia. Cellular fatty acids of the strain were mainly composed of C- 16:0, cyclopropanic acid C-17:0 and cyclopropanic acid C-19:0. Strain KP23T also contained notable amounts of C-13:1 and C-17:1. The G+C content of to tal DNA was 64.8 mol%, Strain KP23(T) oxidized various sugars and sugar alc ohols as sole carbon source such as galactose, glucose, mannose, maltose, g lycerol, inositol and mannitol. Comparisons of its phenotypic and genotypic characteristics with other known species belonging to the genus Burkholder ia suggested that strain KP23(T) represents a new species in the genus. The name Burkholderia kururiensis is proposed for this species, with strain KP 23(T) as the type strain (= JCM 10599(T)).