Sphingomonas cloacae sp nov., a nonylphenol-degrading bacterium isolated from wastewater of a sewage-treatment plant in Tokyo

A nonylphenol-assimilating bacterium isolated at a sewage-treatment plant i n Tokyo was studied phenotypically, genotypically and phylogenetically. Ana lysis of the 16S rDNA sequence, the G+C content of the DNA (63 mol%) and th e isoprenoid quinone composition, as well as the presence of sphingoglycoli pid and the whole-cell fatty acid profile, revealed that the isolate is a m ember of the genus Sphingomonas. However, the sequence similarity of the 16 S rDNA with that of known Sphingomonas spp. was found to be at most 96 %, i mplying that the isolate is distinctive. Furthermore, the results of DNA-DN A hybridization experiments and its physiological characteristics clearly i ndicated that the isolate represents a new Sphingomonas species, for which the name Sphingomonas cloacae is proposed; strain S-3(T) (= JCM 10874(T) = IAM 14885(T)) is the type strain.