Open AccessSulfuriferula nivalis sp. nov., a sulfur oxidizer isolated from snow and emended description of Sulfuriferula plumbiphila
Author(s) -
Hisaya Kojima,
Jun Mochizuki,
Manabu Fukui
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1466-5034
pISSN - 1466-5026
DOI - 10.1099/ijsem.0.004166
Subject(s) - thiosulfate , tetrathionate , biology , 16s ribosomal rna , sulfur , strain (injury) , bacteria , phylogenetic tree , gene , whole genome sequencing , botany , genome , genetics , chemistry , organic chemistry , anatomy
A chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, strain SGTM T was isolated from snow collected in Japan. As electron donors for growth, SGTM T oxidized thiosulfate, tetrathionate and elemental sulfur. Heterotrophic growth was not observed. Growth of the novel isolate was observed at a temperature range of 5–28 °C, with optimum growth at 18 °C. SGTM T grew at a pH range of 4.3–7.4, with optimum growth at pH 6.1–7.1. Major components in the cellular fatty acid profile were summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 ω7 c and/or C 16 : 1 ω6 c ) and C 16 : 0 . The complete genome of SGTM T consisted of a circular chromosome of approximately 3.4 Mbp and two plasmids. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene indicated that SGTM T represented a member of the genus Sulfuriferula , and its closest relative is Sulfuriferula thiophila mst6 T with a sequence identity of 98 %. A comparative genome analysis showed dissimilarity between the genomes of SGTM T and S. thiophila mst6 T , as low values of average nucleotide identity (74.9 %) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (20.4%). On the basis of its genomic and phenotypic properties, SGTM T (=DSM 109609 T =BCRC 81185 T ) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species, Sulfuriferula nivalis sp. nov. Some characteristics of another species in the same genus, Sulfuriferula plumbiphila , were also investigated to revise and supplement its description. The type strain of S. plumbiphila can grow on thiosulfate, tetrathionate and elemental sulfur. The strain showed optimum growth at pH 6.3–7.0 and shared major cellular fatty acids with the other species of the genus Sulfuriferula .