International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, Vol 52, 795-800, Copyright © 2002 by Society for General Microbiology

Thermaerobacter subterraneus sp. nov., a novel aerobic bacterium from the Great Artesian Basin of Australia, and emendation of the genus Thermaerobacter

M. D. Spanevello, H. Yamamoto and BKC. Patel
Microbial Discovery and Research Unit, School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia

A strictly aerobic, thermophilic, Gram-positive, spore-producing, rod-shaped bacterium (2.0--10.0 x 0.3 microm), designated isolate C21(T), was isolated from a sample collected from an open drain run-off channel of a bore in the Great Artesian Basin of Australia (New Lorne Bore, registered number 17263). Isolate C21(T) grew optimally at 70 degrees C (temperature range for growth was 55--80 degrees C) and pH 8.5 (pH range for growth was 6.0--10.5), with a generation time of 90 min. The isolate was strictly heterotrophic and grew on yeast extract and/or tryptone as carbon and energy sources. An increase in growth was not observed with carbohydrates (sucrose, cellobiose, glucose, dextrin, amylopectin, chitin, carboxymethylcellulose, xylan, inositol, arabinose, mannose, fructose, gelatin, starch, amylose, galactose, dextrose, xylose, maltose, L-sorbose or raffinose), organic acids (lactic acid, pyruvic acid or benzoic acid) or Casamino acids as sole carbon sources or in the presence of yeast extract and/or tryptone. The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA, as measured by the thermal denaturation method, was 71 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of isolate C21(T) placed it as a member of the phylum Firmicutes, with Thermaerobacter marianensis as the closest relative (similarity value of 98%). However, isolate C21(T) and T. marianensis differed in a number of key physiological and phenotypic properties and also had a DNA--DNA hybridization value of less than 5%. Based on this evidence, it is proposed that strain C21(T) be designated Thermaerobacter subterraneus sp. nov. (type strain C21(T)=ATCC BAA-137(T)=DSM 13965(T)).

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