Abstract

Strain SYSU D8008 T was isolated from a desert sand sample collected from Saudi Arabia. The strain was observed to be Gram-stain positive, non-motile and aerobic. It can grow at 15–37 °C, pH 6.0–10.0 and can tolerant up to 7% (w/v) NaCl. Pairwise comparison of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain SYSU D8008 T shares high sequence similarities with Georgenia deserti SYSU D8004 T (96.8%) and Georgenia halophila YIM 93316 T (96.8%). Menaquinone MK-8(H 4 ) was detected as the respiratory isoprenologue. The polar lipid profile of strain SYSU D8008 T was found to consist of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, two phosphatidylinositol mannosides, an unidentified glycolipid and an unidentified phospholipid. Strain SYSU D8008 T was found to contain anteiso-C 15:0 and iso-C 15:0 as the predominant fatty acids. Galactose, glucose and rhamnose were detected as the whole cell sugars. Based on the phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic characteristics, strain SYSU D8008 T can be differentiated from other closely related members of the genus Georgenia . The strain SYSU D8008 T , therefore, is concluded to represent a novel species of the genus Georgenia , for which the name Georgenia alba sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SYSU D8008 T (= CGMCC 1.15800 T  = KCTC 39988 T ).