Lysobacter, a New Genus of Nonfruiting, Gliding Bacteria with a High Base Ratio

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Abstract
Highly mucoid, cream, pink and yellow-brown gliding organisms having DNA guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 62-70.1 mol% were isolated by several workers, but since these organisms were never observed to produce typical myxobacterial fruiting bodies, their taxonomy was problematical. Forty-six isolates were studied in detail, among them Ensign and Wolfe''s organism AL-1 and Cook''s isolate 495, both of which produce important proteases, and Cook''s culture 3C, which elaborates the potent, wide-spectrum antibiotic myxin. A new genus, LYSOBACTER, was established for these organisms, and 4 new species and 1 new subspecies were named and described: L. antibioticus (type strain, ATCC 29479), L. brunescens (type strain, ATCC 29482), L. enzymogenes (type strain, ATCC 29487), L. enzymogenes ssp. cookii Christensen (type strain, ATCC 29488) and L. gummosus (type strain, ATCC 29489). The dimensions of the thin, gliding, flexing cells of Lysobacter are 0.3-0.5 by 1.0-15.0 (sometimes up to 70) .mu.m. These soil and water organisms all degrade chitin, two degrade alginate, three degrade pectate, 3 degrade carboxymethylcellulose and one degrades starch, but none decomposes filter paper or agar. They are strongly proteolytic and characteristically lyse a variety of microorganisms such as gram-negative, gram-positive (including actinomycetes), and blue-green bacteria, fungi, green algae and nematodes. The genus was placed in a new family, LYSOBACTERACEAE, within a new order, LYSOBACTERALES.