Alicyclobacillus dauci sp. nov., a slightly thermophilic, acidophilic bacterium isolated from a spoiled mixed vegetable and fruit juice product.

A novel, moderately thermophilic, acidophilic, Gram-variable, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium was isolated from a spoiled mixed vegetable and fruit juice product that had the off-flavour of guaiacol. The bacterium, strain 4F(T), grew aerobically at 20-50 °C (optimum 40 °C) and pH 3.0-6.0 (optimum pH 4.0) and produced acid from glycerol, d-galactose and d-glucose. It contained menaquinone-7 (MK-7) as the major isoprenoid quinone and the DNA G+C content was 49.6 mol%. The predominant cellular fatty acids of strain 4F(T) were ω-alicyclic (ω-cyclohexane fatty acids), which are characteristic of the genus Alicyclobacillus. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain belongs to the Alicyclobacillus cluster, and is related most closely to the type strains of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris (97.4 % similarity) and Alicyclobacillus fastidiosus (97.3 %). Strain 4F(T) produced guaiacol from vanillic acid. It can be distinguished from related species by its acid production type and guaiacol production. On the basis of phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis and DNA-DNA relatedness values, it can be concluded that the strain represents a novel species of the genus Alicyclobacillus, for which the name Alicyclobacillus dauci sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is 4F(T) ( = DSM 28700(T) = NBRC 108949(T) = NRIC 0938(T)).