Saccharofermentans acetigenes gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from sludge treating brewery wastewater.

A spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, designated strain P6(T), was isolated from the sludge of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating brewery wastewater. Cells were Gram-positive, oval and 0.6-0.9 μm by 1.2-1.8 μm in size. Growth was observed at 20-42 °C and at pH 5.0-7.5. It fermented several hexoses, polysaccharides and alcohols. Sucrose and aesculin could also be fermented. The main end products of fermentation from glucose were acetate, lactate and fumarate; trace CO(2) and H(2) were also produced. The DNA G+C content of strain P6(T) was 55.6 mol%. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(15 : 0) and iso-C(14 : 0) 3-OH. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain P6(T) represented a novel phyletic sublineage in clostridial cluster III, and showed <91 % similarity to the type strains of recognized species in this cluster. Phenotypically, the new isolate was distinguished from its phylogenetic relatives (e.g. Clostridium straminisolvens, Clostridium thermocellum, Acetivibrio cellulolyticus and Clostridium aldrichii) by producing acid from glucose and its inability to degrade cellulose. On the basis of evidence from this polyphasic study, strain P6(T) is considered to represent a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Saccharofermentans acetigenes gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Saccharofermentans acetigenes is P6(T) (=JCM 14006(T) =AS 1.5064(T)).