Isolation and characterization of a new strain ofCellulomonas flavigena

Summary A cellulolytic bacterium was isolated from leaf litter. Its nutritional characteristics and most of its morphological features closely resemble those of ATCC # 482, which is considered to be the type species ofCellulomonas flavigena (Stackebrandt and Keddie in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology). However, when stationary phase cells from cultures using a minimal medium containing an excess carbon and energy source are compared, a very prominent morphological difference is manifest. Phase contrast microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicate the presence of large swollen polar structures in the type species. The absence of such structures from the new isolate and the production of large amounts of an extracellular polysaccharide indicate that it is a new strain ofCellulomonas flavigena.