Vulcanisaeta thermophila sp nov., a hyperthermophilic and acidophilic crenarchaeon isolated from solfataric soil

Abstract

An anaerobic, rod-shaped, hyperthermophilic and acidophilic crenarchaeon, designated strain CBA1501(T), was isolated from solfataric soil of the Mayon volcano in the Republic of the Philippines. Phylogenetic analysis showed that strain CBA1501(T) is affiliated with the genus Vulcanisaeta in the phylum Crenarchaeota. DNA sequence similarities between the 16S rRNA gene of strain CBA1501(T) and those of Vulcanisaeta distributa IC-017(T) and Vulcanisaeta souniana IC-059(T) were 98.5 and 97.4%, respectively. Strain CBA1501(T) grew between 75-90 degrees C, over a pH range of 4.0-6.0 and in the presence of 0-1.0% (w/v) NaCl, with optimal growth occurring at 85 degrees C, pH 5.0, and with 0% (w/v) NaCl. Fumarate, malate, oxidized glutathione, sulfur and thiosulfate were used as final electron acceptors, but FeCl3, nitrate and sulfate were not. The DNA G+C content of strain CBA1501(T) was 43.1 mol%. On the basis of polyphasic taxonomic analysis, strain CBA1501(T) represents a novel species of the genus Vulcanisaeta in the phylum Crenarchaeota, for which we propose the name Vulcanisaeta thermophila sp. nov. The type strain is CBA1501(T) (=ATCC BAA-2415(T)=JCM 17228(T)).