Thermosinus carboxydivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., a new anaerobic, thermophilic, carbon-monoxide-oxidizing, hydrogenogenic bacterium from a hot pool of Yellowstone National Park

A new anaerobic, thermophilic, facultatively carboxydotrophic bacterium, strain Nor1T, was isolated from a hot spring at Norris Basin, Yellowstone National Park. Cells of strain Nor1T were curved motile rods with a length of 2.6-3 μm, a width of about 0.5 μm and lateral flagellation. The cell wall structure was of the Gram-negative type. Strain Nor1T was thermophilic (temperature range for growth was 40-68 °C, with an optimum at 60 °C) and neutrophilic (pH range for growth was 6.5-7.6, with an optimum at 6.8-7.0). It grew chemolithotrophically on CO (generation time, 1.15 h), producing equimolar quantities of H2 and CO2 according to the equation CO+H2O → CO2 + H2. During growth on CO in the presence of ferric citrate or amorphous ferric iron oxide, strain Nor1T reduced ferric iron but produced H2 and CO2 at a ratio close to 1:1, and growth stimulation was slight. Growth on CO in the presence of sodium selenite was accompanied by precipitation of elemental selenium. Elemental sulfur, thiosulfate, sulfate and nitrate did not stimulate growth of strain Nor1T on CO and none of these chemicals was reduced. Strain Nor1T was able to grow on glucose, sucrose, lactose, arabinose, maltose, fructose, xylose and pyruvate, but not on cellobiose, galactose, peptone, yeast extract, lactate, acetate, formate, ethanol, methanol or sodium citrate. During glucose fermentation, acetate, H2 and CO2 were produced. Thiosulfate was found to enhance the growth rate and cell yield of strain Nor1T when it was grown on glucose, sucrose or lactose; in this case, acetate, H2S and CO2 were produced. In the presence of thiosulfate or ferric iron, strain Nor1T was also able to grow on yeast extract. Lactate, acetate, formate and H2 were not utilized either in the absence or in the presence of ferric iron, thiosulfate, sulfate, sulfite, elemental sulfur or nitrate. Growth was completely inhibited by penicillin, ampicillin, streptomycin, kanamycin and neomycin. The DNA G+C content of the strain was 51.7 ± 1 mol%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain Nor1T belongs to the Bacillus-Clostridium phylum of the Gram-positive bacteria. On the basis of the studied phenotypic and phylogenetic features, we propose that strain Nor1T be assigned to a new genus, Thermosinus gen. nov. The type species is Thermosinus carboxydivorans sp. nov. (type strain, Nor1T = DSM 14886T = VKM B-2281T).This work was supported by the NATO LST.CLG. 978269 grant, the CRDF RB2-2379- MO-02 grant and the Program ‘Molecular and Cell Biology’ of the Russian Academy of Sciences. J. M. G. acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through a Ramón y Cajal contract and grant REN2002-00041.Peer Reviewe

Extreme diversity of IgGs against histones, DNA, and myelin basic protein in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood of patients with multiple sclerosis

It was recently shown that IgGs from sera of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are active in the hydrolysis of DNA and myelin basic protein (MBP). We first analyzed the relative concentration of antibodies against five histones (H1, H2a, H2b, H3, and H4) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of patients with MS. The relative concentrations of blood and CSF IgGs against histones and their activity in the hydrolysis of five histones varied greatly from patient to patient. However, all 28 IgG preparations were hydrolyzed from one to five histones. Relative activities and correlation coefficients among the activities of IgGs from serum and CSF in the hydrolysis of five histones (H1, H2a, H2b, H3, and H4), DNA, and MBP were calculated. It was shown that auto-IgGs from CSF and sera of MS patients are extremely heterogeneous in their affinity to histones, MBP, and DNA. The heterogeneity of IgG-abzymes hydrolyzing DNA, MBP, and histones from CSF and sera was also demonstrated using their isoelectrofocusing. The isofocusing profiles DNase, MBP-, and histone-hydrolyzing activities of IgGs may be very different for various individuals, but the total IgG subfractions with all their activities are distributed from pH 3 to 10

Anaerobic CO–oxidizing, H 2–producing prokaryotes from volcanic habitats

El autor González Grau, Juan Miguel pertenece actualmente al Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de SevillaCarbon monoxide is regarded as the common component of volcanic gasesboth in terrestrial and deep-sea environments. A variety of diverse bacteria pos-sess CO-oxidizing enzymes termed CO dehydrogenases which allow them to uti-lise CO as a sole source of carbon and energy. Oxygen-dependent CO oxidation isa well known process carried out by a voluminous group of aerobiccarboxydobacteria described by Zavarzin and Nozhevnikova (1977) and by Meyeret al. (1986). In anoxic environments CO could be oxidized by acetogenic bacteriawith acetate production (Wood and Ljungdahl, 1991; Ljungdahl, 1994; Drake,1994), or by methanogenic bacteria with methane production (Deppenmeier et al.,1996; Ferry, 1999).At the beginning of nineties a process of anaerobic CO oxidation resultingin production of hydrogen and carbon dioxide according to the reactionCO + H2O = CO2 + H2was found in thermophilic bacteria (Svetlichny et al., 1991). The aim of our workwas the description of anaerobic thermophilic CO-oxidizing H2-producing micro-organisms from volcanic environments.From terrestrial hot springs of Kamchatka, Yellowstone, Kuril and KermadecIslands and Baikal region, deep-sea hot vents of West and East Pacific oceanssamples of hot water and mud were taken anaerobically and stored in tightlystoppered bottles. The samples were inoculated in anaerobically prepared me-dium under atmosphere of CO at temperatures 60, 70, 80, and 85 oC. Freshwater(Svetlichny et al., 1991) or marine (Sokolova et al., 2001) medium were used. Gas-eous and liquid fermentation products were detected by GLC. Phylogenetic posi-tion was determined by 16S rDNA sequencing (Sokolova et al., 2001).Peer reviewe

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Nautilia lithotrophica gen. nov., sp. nov., a thermophilic sulfur-reducing ε-proteobacterium isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal ven

Carboxydobrachium pacificum gen. nov., sp. nov., a new anaerobic, thermophilic, CO-utilizing marine bacterium from Okinawa Trough.

9 páginas.-- 3 figuras.-- referencias.-- El autor González Grau, Juan Miguel pertenece actualmente al Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de SevillaA new anaerobic, thermophilic, CO-utilizing marine bacterium, strain JMT, was isolated from a submarine hot vent in Okinawa Trough. Cells of strain JMT were non-motile thin straight rods, sometimes branching, with a cell wall of the Gram-positive type, surrounded with an S-layer. Chains of three to five cells were often observed. The isolate grew chemolithotrophically on CO, producing equimolar quantities of H2 and CO2 (according to the equation CO+H2O-->CO2+H2) and organotrophically on peptone, yeast extract, starch, cellobiose, glucose, galactose, fructose and pyruvate, producing H2, acetate and CO2. Growth was observed from 50 to 80 degrees C with an optimum at 70 degrees C. The optimum pH was 6.8-7.1. The optimum concentration of sea salts in the medium was 20.5-25.5 g l(-1). The generation time under optimal conditions was 7.1 h. The DNA G+C content was 33 mol %. Growth of isolate JMT was not inhibited by penicillin, but ampicillin, streptomycin, kanamycin and neomycin completely inhibited growth. The results of 16S rDNA sequence analysis revealed that strain JMT belongs to the Thermoanaerobacter phylogenetic group within the Bacillus-Clostridium subphylum of Gram-positive bacteria but represents a separate branch of this group. On the basis of morphological and physiological features and phylogenetic data, this isolate should be assigned to a new genus, for which the name Carboxydobrachium is proposed. The type species is Carboxydobrachium pacificum; the type strain is JMT (= DSM 12653T).The authors are grateful to G. A. Zavarzin and A. V. Lebedinsky, Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grants nos 96-04-49463 and 99-04-48360, the ‘Biodiversity’ program of the Russian Ministry of Science and Technology, a NATO CLG grant to T. S. and F. T. R. and by NSF LEXEN Program support to F. T. R. and J. M. G.Peer reviewe

Vulcanibacillus modesticaldus gen. nov., sp. nov., a strictly anaerobic, nitrate-reducing bacterium from deep-sea hydrothermal vents

This is an author manuscript that has been accepted for publication in International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, copyright Society for General Microbiology, but has not been copy-edited, formatted or proofed. Cite this article as appearing in International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. This version of the manuscript may not be duplicated or reproduced, other than for personal use or within the rule of 'Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials' (section 17, Title 17, US Code), without permission from the copyright owner, Society for General Microbiology. The Society for General Microbiology disclaims any responsibility or liability for errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or in any version derived from it by any other parties. The final copy-edited, published article, which is the version of record, can be found at http://mic.sgmjournals.org, and is freely available without a subscription.International audienceA novel anaerobic, moderately thermophilic, spore-forming bacterium, designated strain BRT, was isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal core samples collected at the Rainbow vent field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (36 degrees 14' N 33 degrees 54' W). The cells were found to be rod-shaped, non-motile, Gram-positive and spore-forming. The organism grew in the temperature range 37-60 degrees C, with an optimum at 55 degrees C, and at pH values in the range 6-8.5, with an optimum around pH 7. NaCl concentrations for growth were in the range 10-40 g l(-1), with an optimum at 20-30 g l(-1). Strain BRT grew chemo-organoheterotrophically with carbohydrates, proteinaceous substrates and organic acids with nitrate as electron acceptor. The novel isolate was not able to ferment. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 34.5 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed strain BRT in the Bacillaceae within the class 'Bacilli'. On the basis of the phenotypic and phylogenetic data, this isolate should be described as a member of a novel genus, for which the name Vulcanibacillus gen. nov. is proposed. The type species is Vulcanibacillus modesticaldus sp. nov., with the type strain BRT (=DSM 14931T=JCM 12998T)