AUTHOR=Montero-Calasanz Maria del Carmen , Meier-Kolthoff Jan P. , Zhang Dao-Feng , Yaramis Adnan , Rohde Manfred , Woyke Tanja , Kyrpides Nikos C. , Schumann Peter , Li Wen-Jun , Göker Markus 

TITLE=Genome-Scale Data Call for a Taxonomic Rearrangement of Geodermatophilaceae

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02501

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.02501

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Geodermatophilaceae</italic> (order <italic>Geodermatophilales</italic>, class <italic>Actinobacteria</italic>) form a comparatively isolated family within the phylum <italic>Actinobacteria</italic> and harbor many strains adapted to extreme ecological niches and tolerant against reactive oxygen species. Clarifying the evolutionary history of <italic>Geodermatophilaceae</italic> was so far mainly hampered by the insufficient resolution of the main phylogenetic marker in use, the 16S rRNA gene. In conjunction with the taxonomic characterisation of a motile and aerobic strain, designated YIM M13156<sup>T</sup> and phylogenetically located within the family, we here carried out a phylogenetic analysis of the genome sequences now available for the type strains of <italic>Geodermatophilaceae</italic> and re-analyzed the previously assembled phenotypic data. The results indicated that the largest genus, <italic>Geodermatophilus</italic>, is not monophyletic, hence the arrangement of the genera of <italic>Geodermatophilaceae</italic> must be reconsidered. Taxonomic markers such as polar lipids and fatty-acids profile, cellular features and temperature ranges are indeed heterogeneous within <italic>Geodermatophilus</italic>. In contrast to previous studies, we also address which of these features can be interpreted as apomorphies of which taxon, according to the principles of phylogenetic systematics. We thus propose a novel genus, <italic>Klenkia</italic>, with the type species <italic>Klenkia marina</italic> sp. nov. and harboring four species formerly assigned to <italic>Geodermatophilus, G. brasiliensis, G. soli, G. taihuensis</italic>, and <italic>G. terrae</italic>. Emended descriptions of all species of <italic>Geodermatophilaceae</italic> are provided for which type-strain genome sequences are publicly available. Our study again demonstrates that the principles of phylogenetic systematics can and should guide the interpretation of both genomic and phenotypic data.</p>