HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pikuta, E. V. Articles by Tang, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pikuta, E. V. Articles by Tang, J. Agricola Articles by Pikuta, E. V. Articles by Tang, J.

Trichococcus patagoniensis sp. nov., a facultative anaerobe that grows at –5 °C, isolated from penguin guano in Chilean Patagonia

¹ NASA/NSSTC, VP-62, Astrobiology Laboratory, 320 Sparkman Dr., Huntsville, AL 35805, USA
² Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
³ Laboratory for Structural Biology, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, MSB, 203C, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA
⁴ Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2605, USA
⁵ American Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Blvd, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
⁶ Mitretek Systems, 3150 Fairview Park Drive South, Falls Church, VA 22042, USA

Correspondence
Elena V. Pikuta
elenapikuta{at}hotmail.com
Richard B. Hoover
Richard.Hoover{at}NASA.GOV

A novel, extremely psychrotolerant, facultative anaerobe, strain PmagG1^T, was isolated from guano of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) collected in Chilean Patagonia. Gram-variable, motile cocci with a diameter of 1.3–2.0 µm were observed singularly or in pairs, short chains and irregular conglomerates. Growth occurred within the pH range 6.0–10.0, with optimum growth at pH 8.5. The temperature range for growth of the novel isolate was from –5 to 35 °C, with optimum growth at 28–30 °C. Strain PmagG1^T did not require NaCl, as growth was observed in the presence of 0–6.5 % NaCl with optimum growth at 0.5 % (w/v). Strain PmagG1^T was a catalase-negative chemo-organoheterotroph that used sugars and some organic acids as substrates. The metabolic end products were lactate, formate, acetate, ethanol and CO₂. Strain PmagG1^T was sensitive to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, kanamycin and gentamicin. The G+C content of its genomic DNA was 45.8 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed 100 % similarity of strain PmagG1^T with Trichococcus collinsii ATCC BAA-296^T, but DNA–DNA hybridization between them demonstrated relatedness values of <45±1 %. Another phylogenetically closely related species, Trichococcus pasteurii, showed 99.85 % similarity by 16S rRNA sequencing and DNA–DNA hybridization showed relatedness values of 47±1.5 %. Based on genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, the novel species Trichococcus patagoniensis sp. nov. is proposed, with strain PmagG1^T (=ATCC BAA-756^T=JCM 12176^T=CIP 108035^T) as the type strain.

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the sequences determined in this work are AF394926 (16S rRNA gene sequence of strain PmagG1^T), DQ485314 and DQ485315 (16S RNA gene upstream regions of strain PmagG1^T and T. collinsii ATCC BAA-296^T, respectively) and DQ485316 and DQ485317 (partial sequence of the family A DNA polymerase genes of strain PmagG1^T and T. collinsii ATCC BAA-296^T, respectively).