Abstract
A novel obligately chemolithotrophic Thiobacillus species isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent is described. This organism grows lithoautotrophically on thiosulphate, tetrathionate, sulphide and sulphur which are oxidized to sulphate. The isolate is slightly halophilic and markedly halotolerant, showing optimum growth at pH 7.5 and at 35°C. The G+C content of the DNA is 67.1 mol%. The 16S rRNA sequence is distinct from any other Thiobacilli sequences. Phylogenetic analysis shows the organism to be a representative of the γ-group of proteobacteria and a specific relative of Thiobacillus neapolitanus. The ubiquinone is ubiquinone-8. These characters distinguish the isolate from any other Thiobacillus or Thiomicrospira species previously reported and is a new species described as Thiobacillus hydrothermalis. The type strain is isolate R3, DSM7121.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adair FW, Gundersen K (1969) Chemoautotrophic sulfur bacteria in the marine environment. I. Isolation, cultivation and distribution. Can J Microbiol. 15: 345–353
Auzende JM, Honza E, Boespflug X, Deo S, Eissen JP, Hashimoto J, Huchon P, Ishibashi J, Iwabuchi Y, Jarvis P, Joshima M, Kisimoto K, Kuwahara Y, Lafoy Y, Matsumoto T, Maze JP, Mitsuzawa K, Monma H, Naganuma T, Mojiri Y, Ohta S, Otsuka K, Okuda Y, Ondreas H, Otsuki A, Ruellan E, Sibuet M, Tanahashi M, Tanaka T, Urabe T (1990) Active spreading and hydrothermalism in Forth Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). Results of Japanese-French cruise Kaiyo 87. Mar Geophys. Res 12: 269–283
Barbeyron T, Kean K, Forterre P (1984) DNA adenine methylation of GATC sequences appeared recently in the Escherichia coli lineage. J Bacteriol 160: 586–590
Distel DL, Lane DJ, Olsen GJ, Giovannoni SJ, Pace B, Pace NR, Stahl DA, Felbeck H (1988) Sulfur-oxidizing bacterial endosymbionts: analysis of phylogeny and specificity by 16S rRNA sequences. J Bacteriol 170: 2506–2510
Felbeck H, Childress JJ, Somero GN (1981) Calvin-Benson cycle and sulphide oxidation enzymes in animals from sulphide-rich habitats. Nature (London) 293: 291–293
Felsenstein J (1985) Confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. Evolution 39: 783–791
Harrigan WF, McCance ME (1966) Laboratory methods in microbiology. Academic Press, London and New York: 8–9
Hobbie JE, Daley RJ, Jasper S (1977) Use of nucleopore filters for counting bacteria by fluorescence microscopy. Appl Environ Microbiol 33: 1225–1228
Jannasch HW, Wirsen CO, Nelson DC, Robertson LA (1985) Thiomicrospira crunogena sp. nov., a colorless, sulfur-oxidizing bacterium from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. Int J Syst Bacteriol 35: 422–424
Jannasch HW, Nelson DC, Wirsen CO (1989) Massive natural occurrence of unusually large bacteria (Beggiatoa sp.) at a hydrothermal deep-sea vent site. Nature 342: 834–836
Karlovsky P, Cock, Cockawamde (1991) Buoyant density of DNA-Hoechst 33258 (bisbenzimide) complexes in CsCl gradients: Hoechst 33258 binds to single AT base pairs. Anal Biochem 194: 192–197
Katayama-Fujimura Y, Tsuzaki N, Kuraishi H (1982) Ubiquinone, fatty acid and DNA base composition determination as a guide to the taxonomy of the genus Thiobacillus. J Gen Microbiol 128: 1599–1611
Lanaras T, Cook CM, Wood AP, Kelly DP, Codd GA (1991) Purification of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and of carboxysomes from Thiobacillus thyasiris the putative symbiont of Thyasira flexuosa (Montagu). Arch Microbiol 156: 338–343
Lane DJ, Harrison AP, Stahl D, Pace B, Giovanni SJ, Olsen GJ, Pace NR (1992) Evolutionary relationships among sulfur- and iron-oxidizing eubacteria. J Bacteriol 174: 269–278
Marmur J (1961) A procedure for the isolation of deoxyribonucleic acid from micro-organisms. J Mol Biol 3: 208–218
Marmur J, Doty P (1962) Determination of the base composition of DNA from its thermal denaturation temperature. J Mol Biol 5: 109–118
Mergeay M, Nies D, Schlegel HG, Gerits J, Charles P, VanGisjegem F (1985) Alcaligenes eutrophus CH34 is a facultative chemolithotroph with plasmid-bound resistance to heavy metals. J Bacteriol 162: 328–334
Nelson DC, Jannasch HW (1983) Chemoautotrophic growth of a marine Beggiatoa in sulfide-gradient cultures. Arch Microbiol 136: 262–269
Nelson DC (1989) Characterization of large, autotrophic Beggiatoa spp. abundant at hydrothermal vents of the Guaymas Basin. Appl Environ Microbiol 55: 2909–2917
Nishihara H, Igarashi Y, Kodama T (1989) Isolation of an obligately chemolithoautotrophic, halophilic and aerobic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium from marine environment. Arch Microbiol 152: 39–43
Olsen GJ (1987) The earliest phylogenetic branchings: comparing rRNA-based evolutionary trees inferred with various techniques. Cold Spring Harbor Symp Quant Biol 52: 825–838
Rhodes ME (1958) The cytology of Pseudomonas spp. as revealed by a silver plating method. J Gen Microbiol 18: 639–648
Ruby EG, Wirsen CO, Jannasch HW (1981) Chemolithotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from the Galapagos Rift hydrothermal vents. Appl Environ Microbiol 42: 317–324
Ruby EG, Jannasch HW (1982) Physiological characteristics of Thiomicrospira sp. Strain L-12 isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. J Bacteriol 149: 161–165
Saiki RK, Gelfand DH, Stoffel S, Scharf SJ, Higuchi R, Horn GT, Mullis KB, Erlich HA (1988) Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable DNA polymerase. Science 239: 487–491
Sambrook J, Fritsch EF, Maniatis T (1989) Molecular cloning, a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor, New York
Sanger F, Nicklen S, Coulson AR (1977) DNA sequenching with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 74: 5463–5467
Sorbö B (1957) A colorimetric method for the determination of thiosulfate. Biochim Biophys Acta 23: 412–416
Stackebrandt E, Murray RGE, Trüper HG (1988) Proteobacteria classis nov., a name for the phylogenetic taxon that includes the “purple bacteria and their relatives”. Int J Syst Bacteriol 38: 321–325
Tilton RC, Cobet AB, Jones GE (1967) Marine Thiobacilli. I. Isolation and distribution. Can J Microbiol 13: 1521–1528
Tilton RC (1968) The distribution and characterization of marine sulfur bacteria. Rev Intern Oceanogr Med IX: 237–253
Tuttle JH, Jannasch HW (1972) Occurence and type of Thiobacillus-like bacteria in the sea. Limnol Oceanogr 17: 532–543
Wirsen CO, Tuttle JH, Jannasch HW (1986) Activities of sulphate-oxidizing bacteria at 21°N East Pacific Rise vent site. Mar Biol 92: 449–456
Woese CR (1987) Bacterial evolution. Microbiol Rev 51: 221–271
Wood AP, Kelly DP (1985) Physiological characteristics of a new thermophilic obligately chemolithotrophic Thiobacillus species, Thiobacillus tepidarius. Int J Syst Bacteriol 35: 434–437
Wood AP, Kelly DP (1988) Isolation and physiological characterisation of Thiobacillus aquaesulis sp. nov., a novel facultatively autotrophic moderate thermophile. Arch Microbiol 149: 339–343
Wood AP, Kelly DP (1989) Isolation and physiological characterisation of Thiobacillus thyasiris sp. nov., a novel marine facultative autotroph and the putative symbiont of Thyasira flexuosa. Arch Microbiol 152: 160–166
Wood AP, Kelly DP (1991) Isolation and characterization of Thiobacillus halophilus sp. nov., a sulphur-oxidizing autotrophic eubacterium from a Western Australian hypersaline lake. Arch Microbiol 156: 277–280
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Durand, P., Reysenbach, AL., Prieur, D. et al. Isolation and characterization of Thiobacillus hydrothermalis sp. nov., a mesophilic obligately chemolithotrophic bacterium isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in Fiji Basin. Arch. Microbiol. 159, 39–44 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00244261
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00244261