Candidatus Frankia nodulisporulans sp. nov., an Alnus glutinosa-infective Frankia species unable to grow in pure culture and able to sporulate in-planta

We describe a new Frankia species, for three non-isolated strains obtained from Alnus glutinosa in France and Sweden, respectively. These strains can nodulate several Alnus species (A. glutinosa, A. incana, A. alnobetula), they form hyphae, vesicles and sporangia in the root nodule cortex but have resisted all attempts at isolation in pure culture. Their genomes have been sequenced, they are significantly smaller than those of other Alnus-infective species (5 Mb instead of 7.5 Mb) and are very closely related to one another (ANI of 100%). The name Candidatus Frankia nodulisporulans is proposed.