Sagittula

Abstract

Sa.git' tu.la . L. fem. n. sagittula small arrow, referring to the shape of the bacterium. Proteobacteria / Alphaproteobacteria / Rhodobacterales / Rhodobacteraceae / Sagittula Rod‐shaped cells , 0.9 × 2.3 µm. Gram negative. Cells attach by one pole to particles of cellulose and lignocellulose by means of a polar holdfast structure that can be seen by electron microscopy. Endospores and cysts are not formed. Capsules are produced. Intracellular granules of polyhydroxybutyrate are formed . Aerobic , having a strictly aerobic type of metabolism with oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor . Do not denitrify. Colonies are nonpigmented. Bacteriochlorophyll a is not present. Oxidase and catalase positive . Sea‐salt‐based medium is required for growth . Chemoorganotrophic. Methanol, various carbohydrates and amino acids, and some aromatic compounds such as p ‐coumarate, cinnamate, ferulate, and vanillate are utilized. Organic nitrogen compounds, ammonium, and nitrate serve as nitrogen sources. Cellulose is hydrolyzed . Synthetic lignin preparations are partially solubilized and mineralized in the presence of glucose . 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis positions this genus in a group of marine bacteria (except for the moderate halophile Silicibacter ) within the family Rhodobacteraceae . Isolated from a salt marsh at 2% salinity on the coast of Georgia, USA, by enrichment with lignin‐rich pulp mill effluent. The mol % G + C of the DNA is : 65.0. Type species : Sagittula stellata González, Mayer, Moran, Hodson and Whitman 1997b, 778.