Thioprofundum hispidum sp. nov., an obligately chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing gammaproteobacterium isolated from the hydrothermal field on Suiyo Seamount, and proposal of Thioalkalispiraceae fam. nov. in the order Chromatiales.

A novel mesophilic, facultatively anaerobic, sulfur-oxidizing bacterial strain, designated gps61(T), was isolated from a surface rock sample collected from the hydrothermal field of Suiyo Seamount on the Izu-Bonin Arc in the Western Pacific Ocean. Cells of the isolate were rod-shaped with a single sheathed polar flagellum. Neither extensive internal membranes nor storage materials were present in the cells. In a 20 % CO(2) atmosphere, strain gps61(T) grew using thiosulfate, sulfur or tetrathionate as electron donors and oxygen or nitrate as electron acceptors. Other substrates, including organic acids and sugars, did not support growth, indicating that strain gps61(T) was an obligate chemolithoautotroph. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain gps61(T) was closely related to Thioprofundum lithotrophicum 106(T) (98.5 % sequence similarity) in the order Chromatiales. Phylogenetic trees grouped strain gps61(T) and Thioprofundum lithotrophicum in the same cluster along with Thioalkalispira microaerophila and Thiohalophilus thiocyanoxidans, but it was apparent from the analysis that the novel strain had definitely departed from the family lineage. On the basis of its phylogenetic position along with its morphological and physiological characteristics, strain gps61(T) ( = NBRC 101261(T)  = DSM 18546(T)) represents a novel species of the genus Thioprofundum, for which the name Thioprofundum hispidum sp. nov. is proposed. In addition, we propose a novel family name, Thioalkalispiraceae, in the order Chromatiales, to accommodate the genera Thioalkalispira, Thiohalophilus and Thioprofundum.