International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (2001), 51, 1867–1871 Printed in Great Britain NOTE Pigmentiphaga kullae gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Alcaligenaceae with the ability to decolorize azo dyes aerobically 1 Institut fu $ r Mikrobiologie, Universita $ t Stuttgart, Allmandring 31, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany 2 Institut fu $ r Bakteriologie, Mykologie und Hygiene, Veterina $ rmedizinische Universita $ t Wien, Veterina $ rplatz 1, A-1210 Wien, Austria 3 Institut fu $ r Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Universita $ t Wien, Dr Bohrgasse 9, A-1030 Wien, Austria 4 Institut fu $ r Angewandte Mikrobiologie, Justus- Liebig-Universita $ t Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26–32 (IFZ), D-35392 Giessen, Germany Silke Blu $ mel, 1 Barbara Mark, 2 Hans-Ju $ rgen Busse, 2,3 Peter Ka $ mpfer 4 and Andreas Stolz 1 Author for correspondence : Andreas Stolz. Tel : ›49 711 6855489. Fax : ›49 711 6855725. e-mail : andreas.stolz!po.uni-stuttgart.de The taxonomic position of Pseudomonas strain K24, which was isolated previously after an aerobic enrichment with the azo compound 1-(4’- carboxyphenylazo)-4-naphthol as the sole source of carbon and energy, was investigated. The detection of a quinone system with ubiquinone Q-8 as the predominant compound and a polyamine pattern with putrescine and 2- hydroxyputrescine as the major polyamines present suggested that strain K24 T belongs to the β-subclass of the Proteobacteria. This was supported by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene, which demonstrated about 95–96 % sequence similarity to different species of the genera Achromobacter, Alcaligenes and Bordetella. This suggested that strain K24 T is a member of the family Alcaligenaceae. The GMC content of the DNA was 68<5 mol %. Different methods for the construction of phylogenetic dendrograms placed strain K24 T separate from the genera Alcaligenes, Achromobacter and Bordetella. Analysis of the fatty acids demonstrated the presence of 10 :0 3-OH and high concentrations of summed feature 7 (18 : 1ω7c, 18:1ω9t and/or 18:1ω12t) and 19:0 cycloω8c, which is unique among previously described species of the genera Alcaligenes, Achromobacter and Bordetella. On the basis of the low 16S rRNA sequence similarities, the composition of the fatty acid profile and unique phenotypic properties, a new genus and species is proposed for strain K24 T with the name Pigmentiphaga kullae gen. nov., sp. nov. Keywords : Pigmentiphaga kullae, degradation, azo compounds, Alcaligenaceae One of the most impressive examples of the ability of micro-organisms to adapt to the utilization of xeno- biotic compounds was a series of studies by Kulla and colleagues on the continuous adaptation of a mixed bacterial culture to the aerobic degradation of azo compounds (Kulla, 1981 ; Kulla et al., 1983, 1984). In these studies, two different bacterial strains were isolated from the same inoculum that grew either with 1-(4«-carboxyphenylazo)-4-naphthol (‘ carboxy- Orange I ’) (strain K24 T ) or 1-(4«-carboxyphenylazo)- 2-naphthol (‘ carboxy-Orange II ’) (strain KF46). In the accompanying publication, a descendant of strain KF46 (strain KF46F T ) is identified as a new member ................................................................................................................................................. The GenBank accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain K24 T is AF282916. of the Comamonadaceae, Xenophilus azovorans (Blu $ mel et al., 2001). In the present manuscript, the taxonomic position of strain K24 T was analysed using the methods described in the accompanying manu- script (Blu $ mel et al., 2001). Strain K24 T was kindly provided by T. Leisinger (ETH Zu $ rich, Switzerland). It has been deposited at the German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ, Braun- schweig, Germany) as DSM 13608 T and at the National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria (Aberdeen, UK) as NCIMB 13708 T . Strain K24 T formed visible colonies (diameter of about 1 mm) on agar plates with LB medium within 3 d at 30, 37 and 42 C. No growth was found within 14 d at 4 C. The colonies were opaque, circular and convex with an entire margin. The strain was oxidase- and 01832 # 2001 IUMS 1867