Promicromonospora pachnodae sp. nov., a member of the (hemi)cellulolytic hindgut flora of larvae of the scarab beetle Pachnoda marginata

Intestinal microorganisms play an important role in plant fiber degradation by larvae of the rose chafer Pachnoda marginata. In the hindgut of the larvae 2.5 to 7.4 × 10⁸ bacteria per ml of gut content with xylanase or endoglucanase activity were found. Bacteria in the midgut were not (hemi)cellulolytic, but the alkaline environment in this part of the intestinal tract functions as a precellulolytic phase, solubilizing part of the lignocellulosic material. Accordingly, the degradation of lignocellulose-rich material in Pachnoda marginata larvae appeared to be a combination of a physico-chemical and microbiological process. A number of different facultative anaerobic and strictly anaerobic bacteria with (hemi)cellulolytic activity were isolated from the hindgut. A dominant (hemi)cellulolytic species was a Gram positive, irregular shaped, facultative aerobic bacterium. Further physiological identification placed the isolate in the genus Promicromonospora. Comparative 16S rDNA analysis and phenotypic features revealed that the isolate represented a new species for which the name Promicromonospora pachnodae is proposed. P. pachnodae produced xylanases and endoglucanases on several plant derived polymers, both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.