A new facultative methylotroph utilizing dichloromethane

Strain DM13 of gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, nonmotile, colorless bacteria was isolated and found to be able to utilize dichloromethane, methanol, and methylamine via the serine pathway. Cell division is asymmetric and involves the formation of an elongated constriction. Among the cellular fatty acids, cis-vaccenic, lactobacillic, and palmitic acids (c18 : 1 omega 7, Delta 19 : 0, and 16 : 0) predominate. The predominant phospholipids are phosphatidylethanol amine, phosphatidylglycerol, cardiolipin, and phosphatidylcholine. The major ubiquinone is Q(10) The DNA G+C content is 66.2 mol % (T-m). The level of DNA-DNA homology of strain DM13 with the type representatives of the genera Methylobacterium, Methylomicrobium, Aminobacter, Hyphomicrobium, and Pseudomonas was below 10%. Based on its phenotypic and genotypic peculiarities, the new isolate was assigned to a new genus and species, Mehtylorhabdus multivorans gen. nov. sp. nov. Descriptions of the new genus and species are presented.