SREL Reprint #2994

Thermosediminibacter oceani gen. nov., sp. nov. and Thermosediminibacter litoriperuensis sp. nov., new anaerobic thermophilic bacteria isolated from Peru Margin

Yong-Jin Lee1,3, Isaac D. Wagner1, Mary E. Brice1, Vadim V. Kevbrin1, Gary L. Mills3, Christopher S. Romanek2,3, and Juergen Wiegel1

1Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, 527 Biological Sciences Building,
1000 Cedar Street, Athens, GA 30602-2605, USA
2Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
3Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802, USA

Abstract: A new group of anaerobic thermophilic bacteria was isolated from enrichment cultures obtained from deep sea sediments of Peru Margin collected during Leg 201 of the Ocean Drilling Program. A total of ten isolates were obtained from cores of 1-2 m below seafloor (mbsf) incubated at 60°C: three isolates came from the sediment 426 m below sea level with a surface temperature of 9°C (Site 1227), one from 252 m below sea level with a temperature of 12°C (Site 1228), and six isolates under sulfate-reducing condition from the lower slope of the Peru Trench (Site 1230). Strain JW/IW-1228P from the Site 1228 and strain JW/YJL-1230-7/2 from the Site 1230 were chosen as representatives of the two identified clades. Based on the 16S rDNA sequence analysis, these isolates represent a novel group with Thermovenabulum and Caldanaerobacter as their closest relatives. The temperature range for growth was 52-76°C with an optimum at around 68°C for JW/IW-1228P and 43-76°C with an optimum at around 64°C for JW/YJL-1230-7/2. The pH25C range for growth was from 6.3 to 9.3 with an optimum at 7.5 for JW/IW-1228P and from 5 to 9.5 with an optimum at 7.9-8.4 for JW/YJL-1230-7/2. The salinity range for growth was from 0% to 6% (w/v) for JW/IW-1228P and from 0% to 4.5% (w/v) for JW/YJL-1230-7/2. The G+C content of the DNA was 50 mol% for both JW/IW-1228P and JW/YJL-1230-7/2. DNA-DNA hybridization yielded 52% similarity between the two strains. According to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolates are located within the family, Thermoanaerobacteriaceae. Based on their morphological and physiological properties and phylogenetic analysis, it is proposed that strain JW/IW-1228PT is placed into a novel taxa, Thermosediminibacter oceani, gen. nov., sp. nov. (DSM 16646T=ATCC BAA-1034T), and JW/YJL-1230-7/2T into Thermosediminibacter litoriperuensis sp. nov. (DSM 16647T =ATCC BAA-1035T).

Keywords: Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), Leg 201, Thermosediminibacter oceani, Thermosediminibacter litoriperuensis, Deep sea sediment

SREL Reprint #2994

Lee, Y. J., I. D. Wagner, M. E. Brice, V. V. Kevbrin, G. Mills, C. S. Romanek, and J. Wiegel. 2005. Thermosediminibacter oceani gen. nov., sp. nov. and Thermosediminibacter litoriperuensis sp. nov., new anaerobic thermophilic bacteria isolated from Peru Margin. Extremophiles 9:375-383.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).