A new genus of Actinomycetales: Waksmania gen.nov

SUMMARY: A single mesophilic species of a new genus belonging to the family Streptomycetaceae of the order Actinomycetales is described and has been named Waksmania (W. rosea, type species). It produces a filamentous growth which is dif-ferentiated into vegetative (primary) mycelium and aerial (secondary) mycelium. Hyphae are 1.5~. or less in diameter. The new genus is characterized by the produc-tion of pairs of spores which are formed either: (1) at the tip of sporophores which branch from an aerially borne hypha; or (2) directly on an aerial hypha. Spores are not formed on the vegetative mycelium. The micro-organisms commonly known as actinomycetes are thought by many to represent a group which is intermediate between the bacteria and the fungi. According to the most widely accepted systematic classification of these organisms, they are grouped under the order Actinomycetales (Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 1948). The organisms of the order Actinomycetales are described as those which form elongated cells which have a definite tendency to branch. Hyphae are O*3-1*5pu., usually about 1.0,~. in diameter. Special ‘ fragmentation ’ spores, oidiospores, and conidia are formed by some genera. Briefly, the order is divided as follows (after Waksman &amp