Sulfuriferula thiophila sp. nov., a chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, and correction of the name Sulfuriferula plumbophilusWatanabe, Kojima and Fukui 2015 to Sulfuriferula plumbiphila corrig.

Abstract

A novel sulfur-oxidizing bacterium designated strain mst6T was isolated from spring water of Masutomi hot spring in Japan. The cells were rod-shaped (1.2-4.0 × 0.5-0.7 μm) and Gram-stain-negative. The G+C content of genomic DNA was around 52.6 mol%. The isolate possessed summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), C16 : 0 and C12 : 0 as major cellular fatty acids. Strain mst6T grew by inorganic carbon fixation and oxidation of inorganic sulfur compounds with oxygen as an electron acceptor. The isolate grew over a temperature range of 5-34 °C, a NaCl concentration range of 0-110 mM and a pH range of 4.6-8.1. Optimum growth occurred at 32 °C, in the absence of NaCl and at pH 5.9-6.2. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain mst6T belongs to the family Sulfuricellaceae in the class Betaproteobacteria. The closest cultured relative was Sulfuriferula multivorans TTNT with a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.0 %. On the basis of the data obtained in this study, strain mst6T represents a novel species of the genus Sulfuriferula, for which the name Sulfuriferula thiophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is mst6T ( = NBRC 111150T = DSM 101871T). In addition, we propose correcting the name Sulfuriferula plumbophilus Watanabe, Kojima and Fukui 2015 to Sulfuriferula plumbiphila corrig. based on Rule 12c, Rule 61 and Appendix 9 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.