Nine moderately alkalitolerant thermophilic bacteria with similar properties were isolated from water and soil samples obtained from Yellowstone National Park. These Gram-type-positive, rod-shaped bacteria produce cells with primary branches. The cells are peritrichous and exhibit only slight tumbling motility. At 60°C the pH range for growth is 6.9 to 10.3, and the optimum pH is 8.5. At pH 8.5 the temperature range for growth is 34 to 66°C, with an optimum temperature of 57°C. The strains are mainly proteolytic. The fermentation products from yeast extract are acetate, CO2, and H2. Fumarate added to minimal medium containing yeast extract is stoichiometrically converted to succinate, indicating that it is used as an alternative electron acceptor. The DNA G+C content is 33 to 34 mol%. On the basis of its unique properties, such as branch formation, growth at alkaline pH values at elevated temperatures, and the relative distance of its 16S rRNA sequence from those of other known bacteria, we propose that strain JW/YL-138T (T = type strain) and eight similar strains represent a new genus and species, Anaerobranca horikoshii. Strain JW/YL-138 is designated the type strain of the type species, A. horikoshii, which was named in honor of Koki Horikoshi, a pioneer in the field of alkaliphilic bacteria.
AusubelF. M.,
BrentR.,
KingstonR. E.,
MooreD. D.,
SeidmanJ. G.,
SmithJ. A.,
StruhlK.1989; Current protocols in molecular biology. 2.4.1–2.4.5 Wiley Intersciences; New York:
BigginM. D.,
GibsonT. J.,
HingG. F.1983; Buffer gradient gels and 35S label as an aid to rapid DNA sequence determination. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 80:3963–3965
CollinsM. D.,
LawsonP. A.,
WillemsA.,
CordobaJ. J.,
Fernandez-GarayzabalJ.,
GarciaP.,
CaiJ.,
HippeH.,
FarrowJ. A. E.1994; The phylogeny of the genus Clostridium: proposal of five new genera and eleven new species combinations. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 44:812–826
DurreP.,
AnderschW.,
AndreesenJ. R.1981; Isolation and characterization of an adenine-utilizing, anaerobic sporeformer, Clostridium purinofyticum sp. nov. Int J. Syst. Bacteriol. 31:184–194
KellenbergerE.,
RyterA.,
SechaudJ.1958; Electron microscopy study of DNA-containing plasma. II. Vegetative and mature phage DNA as compared with normal bacterial nucleosides in different physiological states. J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol. 4:671–678
LeeY.-E.,
JainM. K.,
LeeC.,
LoweS. E.,
ZeikusJ. G.1993; Taxonomic distinction of saccharolytic thermophilic anaerobes: description of Thermoanaerobacterium xylanofyticum gen. nov., sp. nov., and Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum gen. nov., sp. nov.; reclassification of Thermoanaerobium brockii, Clostridium thermosulfurogenes, and Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum E100-69 as Themtoanaerobacter brockii comb. nov., Thermo-anaerobacterium thermosulfurogenes comb. nov., and Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricum comb. nov., respectively; and transfer of Clostridium thermohydrosulfurieum 39E to Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus
. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 43:41–51
LiY.,
MandelcoL.,
WiegelJ.1993; Isolation and characterization of a moderately thermophilic alkaliphile, Clostridium paradoxum sp. nov. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 43:450–460
LoweS. E.,
JainM. K.,
ZeikusJ. G.1993; Biology, ecology, and biotechnological applications of anaerobic bacteria adapted to environmental stresses in temperature, pH, salinity, and substrates. Microbiol. Rev. 57:451–509
MathraniI. M.,
BooneD. R.,
MahR. A.,
FoxG. E.,
LauP. P.1988; Methanohalophilus zhilinae sp. nov., an alkaliphilic, halophilic, methanotro-phic methanogen. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 38:139–142
MesbahM.,
PremachandranU.,
WhitmanW. B.1989; Precise measurement of the G+C content of deoxyribonucleic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 39:159–167
OlsenG. J.,
MatsudaH.,
HagstromR.,
OverbeekR.1994; fastDNAml: a tool for construction of phylogenetic trees of DNA sequences using maximum likelihood. CABIOS 10:41–48
ShibaH.,
YamamotoH.,
HorikoshiK.1989; Isolation of strictly anaerobic halophiles from the aerobic surface sediments of hypersaline environments in California and Nevada. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 57:191–196
StadtmanT. C.,
BarkerH. A.1951; Studies on the methane fermentation. X. A new formate-decomposing bacterium, Methanococcus vannielli
. J. Bacteriol. 62:269–280
ValentineR. C., , ShapiroB. M.,
StadtmanE. R.1968; Regulation of glutamine synthetase. XII. Electron microscopy of the enzyme from E. coli
. Biochemistry 7:2143–2152
VedderA.1935; Bacillus alcalophilus n. sp.; benevens enkle ervaringen met sterk alcalische voedingsbodems. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek J. Microbiol. Serol. 1:141–147
WeisburgW. G.,
TullyJ. G.,
RoseD. L.,
PetzelJ. P.,
OyaizuH.,
YangD.,
MandelcoL.,
SechrestJ.,
LawrenceT. G.,
van EttenJ.,
ManiloffJ.,
WoeseC. R.1989; A phylogenetic analysis of the mycoplasmas: basis for their classification. J. Bacteriol. 171:6455–6467
WiegelJ.,
LjundahlL. G.,
RawsonJ. R.1979; Isolation from soil and properties of the extreme thermophile Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum
. J. Bacteriol. 139:800–810
WoeseC. R.,
GutellR.,
GuptaR.,
NollerH. F.1983; Detailed analysis of the higher-order structure of 16S-like ribosomal ribonucleic acids. Microbiol. Rev. 47:621–669
WoeseC. R.,
SoginsM.,
StahlD. A.,
LewisB. J.,
BonenL.1976; A comparison of the 16S ribosomal RNAs from mesophilic and thermophilic bacilli. J. Mol. Evol. 7:197–213
WorkakitS.,
BooneD. R.,
MahR. A.,
Abdel-SamieM.-E.,
El-HalwagiM. M.1986; Methanobacterium alcaliphilum sp. nov., an H2-utilizing methanogen that grows at high pH values. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 36:380–382
ZeikusJ. G.,
HenningD. L.1975; Methanobacterium arbophilicum sp. nov., an obligate anaerobe isolated from wetwood of living trees. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek J. Microbiol. Serol. 41:543–552