Amycolatopsis camponoti sp. nov., new tetracenomycin-producing actinomycete isolated from carpenter ant Camponotus vagus

An actinobacterial strain A23(T), isolated from adult ant Camponotus vagus collected in Ryazan region (Russia) and established as tetracenomycin X producer, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Morphological characteristics of this strain included well-branched substrate mycelium and aerial hyphae fragmented into rod-shaped elements. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene and genome sequences showed that strain A23(T) was most closely related to Amycolatopsis pretoriensis DSM 44654(T). Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between the genome sequences of isolate A23(T) and its closest relative, Amycolatopsis pretoriensis DSM 44654(T), were 39.5% and 88.6%, which were below the 70% and 95–96% cut-off point recommended for bacterial species demarcation, respectively. The genome size of the isolate A23(T) was 10,560,374 bp with a DNA G + C content of 71.2%. The whole-cell hydrolysate contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and arabinose and galactose as main diagnostic sugars as well as ribose and rhamnose. It contained MK-9(H4) as the predominant menaquinone and iso-C(16:0), iso-C(15:0), anteiso-C(17:0) and C(16:0) as the major cellular fatty acids. Diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine prevailed among phospholipids. Mycolic acids were not detected. Based on the phenotypic, genomic and phylogenetic data, isolate A23(T) represents a novel species of the genus Amycolatopsis, for which the name Amycolatopsis camponoti sp. nov. is proposed, and the type strain is A23(T) (= DSM 111725(T) = VKM 2882(T)). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10482-022-01716-w.