Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated that strain GIMN1.010T belonged to the genus Corynebacterium and was related closely to Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032T (98.4 % similarity). However, the level of DNA–DNA relatedness between strain GIMN1.010 and C. glutamicum ATCC 13032 was only 22.4 ±1.72 %, showing that strain GIMN1.010 represented a genomic species distinct from C. glutamicum. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain GIMN1.010T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Corynebacterium, for which the name Corynebacterium deserti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GIMN1.010T (5CCTCC AB 2010341 5NRRL B-59552).