A new species of anaerobic bacterium which produces acetate from methanol is described. Hydrogen and carbon dioxide served as carbon and energy sources. Growth substrates included several C1 compounds, pyruvate, glycerol, lactate, serine, and mono- and di-alcohols. Acetate was the only fermentation product in most cases. The organism is gram negative, nonsporeforming, and mesophilic. Cells are curved rods, which are motile by means of flagella that arise on the concave side of the cell. The morphology of the strain is very similar to that of Sporomusa species, except for the absence of spores. The guanine-plus-cytosine content of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is 47.1 mol% and is similar to that of Sporomusa sphaeroides (47.4 mol%). DNA-DNA hybridization experiments showed a 37.8% homology with the DNA of S. sphaeroides and a 12.5% homology with the DNA of Sporomusa ovata. Therefore, the new isolate is described as a new species of the genus Sporomusa. This proposition is emphasized by the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid characterization of our isolate (C. R. Woese, unpublished data). We propose the name Sporomusa paucivorans. The type strain of S. paucivorans is DSM 3637. Syntrophic cultures of the new isolate with Methanobacterium formicicum were established with methanol, glycerol, and C2 to C4 primary alcohols.
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