*2.4. Chemotaxonomic Analysis of NEAU-wh3-1*

Biomass for chemotaxonomic characterization was prepared by growing strain NEAU-wh3-1 in ISP 2 broth in shake flasks at 28 ◦C for 7 days. Cells were harvested by centrifugation, washed twice with distilled water, and freeze-dried. The whole-cell sugars were analyzed according to the procedures developed by Lechevalier and Lechevalier [57]. The polar lipids were examined by two-dimensional TLC (thin layer chromatography) and identified using the method of Minnikin et al. [58]. Menaquinones were extracted from freeze-dried biomass and purified according to Collins [59]. *Streptomyces lutosisoli* DSM 42165T [60] was used as the reference strain for identification of menaquinones. Extracts were analyzed by a HPLC-UV method [61] using an Agilent Extend-C18 Column (150 × 4.6 mm, i.d. 5 μm) (Agilent Corp., Santa Clara, CA, USA) at 270 nm.
