A bacterium (strain Tp2(T)) was isolated from a caterpillar of the pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Den. & Schiff.) (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae), a destructive pine forest pest. The bacterium is a Gram-stain-positive, red-pigmented coccus, oxidase-negative, nitrate-reducing, non-motile and non-spore-forming. Strain Tp2(T) was subjected to a taxonomic study using polyphasic approach that included morphological and biochemical characterizations, 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, DNA-DNA hybridization, DNA G+C content analysis, comparative fatty acid profiles, and analyses of quinones and polar lipids. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain Tp2(T) revealed that Arthrobacter agilis DSM 20550(T) was the closest known strain (98% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). DNA-DNA hybridization of A. agilis DSM 20550(T) and strain Tp2(T) resulted in a DNA-DNA relatedness value of 11.9% (20.2% reciprocal). The DNA base composition of strain Tp2(T) was 69.5 mol%, which is consistent with the other recognized members of Actinobacteria that have a high G+C content in their genome. The polar lipid pattern of strain Tp2(T) consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol (major), phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol and unknown glycolipids. The cellular fatty acids were anteiso C15:0 and anteiso C17:0 and the major menaquinone was MK-9(II-H2). The peptidoglycan type was A3α with an L-Lys-L-Thr-L-Ala3 interpeptide bridge. The above-mentioned characterization qualifies strain Tp2(T) as genotypically and phenotypically distinct from closely related species of the genus Arthrobacter with validly published names. Strain Tp2(T) is therefore proposed to represent a novel species of the genus Arthrobacter, described as Arthrobacter pityocampae sp. nov. The type strain is Tp2(T) ( = DSM 21719(T) = NCCB 100254(T)).
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