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The Family Syntrophomonadaceae

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The Prokaryotes

Abstract

The family Syntrophomonadaceae comprises the genera Syntrophomonas, Pelospora, Syntrophothermus, and Thermosyntropha. All these bacteria are strictly anaerobic and depend on reducing conditions for growth. They are Gram-positive with low DNA content, but in most cases the murein layer is thin and an outer membrane appears, resembling the cell wall architecture of Gram-negative bacteria. Also in Gram-staining, these bacteria mostly behave Gram-negative. Except for Pelospora, all members of this family degrade fatty acids of four carbon atoms or more by beta oxidation, in close association with hydrogen- or formate-utilizing partner organisms, and depend on this association for thermodynamic reasons. Most representatives of this family can be grown in pure culture with crotonate which is dismutated to acetate and butyrate. Pelospora sp. grows by decarboxylation of glutarate or succinate.

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Acknowledgment

This manuscript is largely based on its predecessor that was written by Martin Sobieraj and David R. Boone and published in the last edition of the Prokaryotes. The author wants to dedicate this manuscript to the late David Boone who made substantial contributions to microbial taxonomy in general and to our understanding of syntrophic fatty acid oxidation in particular. Unfortunately, David passed away in 2005 far too early, at 53 years of age.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, D-78457, Konstanz, Germany

    Bernhard Schink

  2. Marine Microbiology Group, Department of Ecology and Marine Resources, Institut Mediterráni d’Estudis Avancats (CSIC-UIB), E-07190, Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain

    Raúl Muñoz

Authors
  1. Bernhard Schink
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  2. Raúl Muñoz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernhard Schink .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  2. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  3. Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  4. Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stephen Lory

  5. Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany

    Erko Stackebrandt

  6. Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fabiano Thompson

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Schink, B., Muñoz, R. (2014). The Family Syntrophomonadaceae . In: Rosenberg, E., DeLong, E.F., Lory, S., Stackebrandt, E., Thompson, F. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30120-9_365

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