Abstract
A new species of extremely thermophilic, glycolytic anaerobic bacterium, Fervidobacterium nodosum isolated from a New Zealand hot spring, is described. Fervidobacterium nodosum strains were Gram-negative, motile, non-sporulating obligately anaerobic rods that existed singly, in pairs or in chains. Electron micrographs of thin sections revealed a two-layered cell wall structure. The outer layer of the cell wall produced “spheroids”, which was a typical feature of this organism. The optimum temperature for growth was 65 to 70° C, the maximum 80° C and the minimum greater than 40° C. Growth occurred between a pH of 6.0 and 8.0 with the optimum being 7.0 to 7.5. The doubling time of Fervidobacterium nodosum at optimal temperature and pH was 105 minutes. The DNA base composition was 33.7% guanine plus cytosine as determined by thermal denaturation. A wide range of carbohydrates including glucose, sucrose, starch and lactose could be utilized by the organism. Lactate, acetate, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide were the major end products of glucose fermentation with lesser amounts of ethanol being formed. Growth was inhibited by tetracycline, penicillin and chloramphenicol indicating that the organism was a eubacterium.
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