
Full text loading...
A new Clostridium species is described that was isolated from a thermal, volcanic, algal-bacterial community via selective enrichment procedures with pectin as energy source. Clostridium thermosulfurogenes sp. nov. deposits elemental sulphur on the cell surface and in the culture medium from thiosulphate transformation. This species stained Gram-negative, but electron micrographs revealed a double-layered wall without the presence of an outer membranous layer. Thin sections displayed numerous internal membranes and sulphur granules were not discernible. The organism was motile and formed distinctly swollen sporangia with terminal, white-refractile, spherical spores. The temperature range for growth was >35 °C and <75 °C, the pH range was between 4·0 and 7·5. The DNA base composition was 32·6 ± 0·04 mol% guanosine plus cytosine. Fermentable carbohydrates included pectin, starch, xylose, glucose, mannose, cellobiose, maltose, arabinose and sucrose. The doubling time on glucose or pectin was about 2 h. The production of ethanol, H2/CO2, acetate and lactate accounted for a balanced fermentation of glucose, whereas methanol and isopropanol were also produced during pectin fermentation. The taxonomic relationships of C. thermosulfurogenes to other thermophilic Clostridia and its biological role in a thermal microbial community are discussed.
Article metrics loading...
Full text loading...
References
Data & Media loading...