Petrotoga halophila sp. nov., a thermophilic, moderately halophilic, fermentative bacterium isolated from an offshore oil well in Congo

Abstract

A novel thermophilic, moderately halophilic, rod-shaped bacterium, strain MET-B T , with a sheath-like outer structure (toga) was isolated from an offshore oil-producing well in Congo, West Africa. Strain MET-B T was a Gram-negative bacterium with the ability to reduce elemental sulfur, but not sulfate, thiosulfate or sulfite into sulfide. The optimum growth conditions were 60 6C, pH 6.7-7.2 and 4-6 % NaCl. The DNA G+C content was 34.6 mol%. Strain MET-B T was phylogenetically related to members of the genus Petrotoga; Petrotoga miotherma, Petrotoga olearia and Petrotoga mexicana were the closest relatives, with type strains exhibiting more than 99 % identity in an analysis of small-subunit rRNA gene sequences. The values for DNA-DNA relatedness between the type strains of these three species and strain MET-B T were less than 42 %. As MET-B T was found to be genetically and physiologically different from other species of the genus Petrotoga, this strain is proposed as representing a novel species, for which the name Petrotoga halophila sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MET-B T (=DSM 16923 T =CCUG 50214 T).

Biogeochemical Reduction Processes in a Hyper-Alkaline Leachate Affected Soil Profile

“…It was classified as a Petrotoga specie within the phylum Thermotogae. Typically Petrotoga species are strictly anaerobic fermentative bacteria that can oxidise sugars and some polymers during energy metabolism to produce lactate, acetate, CO 2 and H 2 as metabolites (Lien et al 1998;L'Haridon et al 2002;Miranda-Tello et al 2004;Miranda-Tello et al 2007). Most members of this phylum that have been isolated to date are tough thermophiles recovered from deep oil reservoirs, and have adapted to this harsh environment with a sheath-like outer structure that helps them resist environmental stress (Miranda-Tello et al 2004).…”

Diversity and Similarity of Microbial Communities in Petroleum Crude Oils Produced in Asia

“…Oil-specific and thermophilic Petrotoga-like strains and thermophilic-anaerobic Clostridia-and Synergistetes-like strains were detected in the DNA of the TK oil. Petrotoga-like strains have been isolated from several high-temperature petroleum reservoirs worldwide, [9][10][11]24,25) suggesting that these thermophiles are common components of specialized, hot geothermal subsurface environments. We also detected five phylotypes of the anaerobic bacteria Clostridia and Synergistetes (Fig.…”

“…Many analyzed sequences had low identity with reference organisms. The novel thermophilic bacteria Petrotoga mobilis and P. halophila, isolated from a producing oil well in the North Sea 24) and from an off-shore producing oil well in Congo 25) respectively, were detected in the TK library. Furthermore, the closest cultured relatives of anaerobic and thermophilic Clostridia and Synergistetes (Anaerobaculum thermoterrnum, U50711, Desulfitibacter alkalitolerans, AY538171, Desulfotomaculum thermosapovorans, Z26315, and Moorella thermoacetica, CP000232) were also detected, although the identity between the cloned sequences and that of closest relatives was low (Table 1).…”

Two Alternative Pathways for the Synthesis of the Rare Compatible Solute Mannosylglucosylglycerate inPetrotoga mobilis

“…Organisms of this genus have all been isolated from hot oilfield water (21,25), and have an optimum temperature for growth of 55 to 60°C in medium containing NaCl in the range of 0.5 to 10% (16). In Ptg.…”