Ammonifex thiophilus sp. nov., a hyperthermophilic anaerobic bacterium from a Kamchatka hot spring.

A novel anaerobic, extremely thermophilic, facultatively chemolithoautotrophic bacterium designated strain SR(T) was isolated from a terrestrial hot spring in Kamchatka (Russia). The cells of the novel strain were spore-forming rods with a Gram-positive type of cell wall. The novel isolate grew at 60-82 degrees C (optimum 75 degrees C) and pH 6.0-7.5 (optimum 6.8). Molecular hydrogen and formate were used as electron donors. Thiosulfate, sulfate or elemental sulfur served as electron acceptors yielding hydrogen sulfide. No growth was observed on either substrate in the presence of nitrate as the electron acceptor. The G+C content of the DNA was 56.2 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene showed that strain SR(T) was most closely related to Ammonifex degensii (96.4 % gene sequence similarity). However, the novel isolate possessed phenotypic characteristics that differed significantly from those of A. degensii, the only other recognized species of the genus Ammonifex. It is concluded that strain SR(T) (=DSM 19636(T)=VKM B-2461(T)) represents the type strain of a novel species of the genus Ammonifex, for which the name Ammonifex thiophilus sp. nov. is proposed. An emendation of the genus Ammonifex is proposed based on the phenotypic characteristics of the novel species.

Tepidimicrobium ferriphilum gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel moderately thermophilic, Fe(III)-reducing bacterium of the order Clostridiales.

A moderately thermophilic, anaerobic bacterium (strain SB91T) was isolated from a freshwater hot spring at Barguzin Valley, Buryatiya, Russia. Cells of strain SB91T were straight to slightly curved rods, 0.5-0.6 microm in diameter and 3.0-7.0 mum in length. Formation of endospores was not observed. The temperature range for growth was 26-62 degrees C, with an optimum at 50 degrees C. The pH range for growth was 5.5-9.5, with an optimum at pH 7.5-8.0. The substrates utilized by strain SB91T in the presence of 9,10-anthraquinone 2,6-disulfonate included peptone, tryptone, Casamino acids, yeast extract, beef extract, casein hydrolysate, alanine plus glycine, alanine plus proline, L-valine and n-propanol. Carbohydrates were not utilized. Strain SB91T reduced amorphous Fe(III) oxide, Fe(III) citrate, Fe(III) EDTA or Fe(III) nitrilotriacetate with peptone, L-valine or n-propanol as an electron donor. Strain SB91T reduced 9,10-anthraquinone 2,6-disulfonate, thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, fumarate and selenite. Strain SB91T survived after exposure to gamma-radiation at a dose of 5.4 kGy. The G+C content of the DNA of strain SB91T was 33 mol%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the isolated organism belonged to cluster XII of the clostridia. On the basis of its physiological properties and the results of phylogenetic analyses, it is proposed that strain SB91T represents the sole species of a novel genus, Tepidimicrobium; the name Tepidimicrobium ferriphilum gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed, with strain SB91T (=DSM 16624T=VKM B-2348T) as the type strain.

High resistance to oxygen radicals and heat is caused by a galactoglycerolipid in Microbacterium sp. M874.

Microbacterium sp. M874 produced a glyceroglycolipid, di-O-12-methyl-tetradecanoyl-3-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol, at about the 50 microM level. Though the strain was highly resistant to tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) in a glycolipid-productive medium, the resistance was reduced in a nonproductive medium. Exogenous addition of the glycolipid to the nonproductive culture restored the resistance. This addition also increased the resistance to heat, ethanol, and 4-chloro-1-naphthol, in which oxygen radicals might participate. The parallel relationship found in strain M874 mutants between glycolipid productivity and resistance to tBHP or heat suggested that the resistance was mainly caused by the glycolipid. On addition of the glycolipid to a glycolipid-nonproductive culture, it was immediately incorporated into the cells and functioned as an anti-oxygen radical reagent. Thereafter, its intracellular level remained largely unchanged for at least 5 h, even in the presence of tBHP, and its activity was maintained. The glycolipid at 142 microM was sufficient to prevent the cytotoxicity induced by 88.9 mM tBHP. The glycolipid production was not induced by pretreatment with a low level of tBHP or a sublethal heat shock. In brief, the glycolipid might play an essential role in the prevention of damage by oxygen radicals in the glycolipid-producing bacterium.

Thermoanaerobacter siderophilus sp. nov., a novel dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing, anaerobic, thermophilic bacterium.

A thermophilic, anaerobic, spore-forming, dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacterium, designated strain SR4T, was isolated from sediment of newly formed hydrothermal vents in the area of the eruption of Karymsky volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula. Cells of strain SR4T were straight-to-curved, peritrichous rods, 0.4-0.6 micron in diameter and 3.5-9.0 microns in length, and exhibited a slight tumbling motility. Strain SR4T formed round, refractile, heat-resistant endospores in terminally swollen sporangia. The temperature range for growth was 39-78 degrees C, with an optimum at 69-71 degrees C. The pH range for growth was 4.8-8.2, with an optimum at 6.3-6.5. Strain SR4T grew anaerobically with peptone as carbon source. Amorphous iron(III) oxide present in the medium stimulated the growth of strain SR4T; cell numbers increased with the concomitant accumulation of Fe(II). In the presence of Fe(III), strain SR4T grew on H2/CO2 and utilized molecular hydrogen. Strain SR4T reduced 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid, sulfite, thiosulfate, elemental sulfur and MnO2. Strain SR4T did not reduce nitrate or sulfate and was not capable of growth with O2. The fermentation products from glucose were ethanol, lactate, H2 and CO2. The G + C content of DNA was 32 mol%. 16S rDNA sequence analysis placed the organism in the genus Thermoanaerobacter. On the basis of physiological properties and phylogenetic analysis, it is proposed that strain SR4T (= DSM 12299T) should be assigned to a new species, Thermoanaerobacter siderophilus sp. nov.

[The significance of lactic acid bacteria in treatment and prophylaxis of digestive tract disorders]. / Znaczenie bakterii kwasu mlekowego w leczeniu i profilaktyce schorzen przewodu pokarmowego.

Probiotic bacteria are used to treat disturbed intestinal microflora and increased gut permeability which are characteristic to many intestinal disorders. Examples include children with acute rotavirus diarrhoea, subjects with food allergy, subjects with colonic disorders and patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy and sometimes changes associated with colon cancer development. In all such disease states altered intestinal microflora, impaired gut barrier and different types of intestinal inflammation are present. Successful probiotic bacteria are able to survive gastric conditions and colonise the intestine, at least temporarily, by adhering to the intestinal epithelium. Already existing preparations containing viable lactic bacteria of human origin appear to have value in restoring normal microbial functions and alleviating symptoms in some patients with gastrointestinal infection and other conditions. Current scientifically based research efforts world-wide are now focusing on the development of high quality products containing microorganisms preselected for specific probiotic characteristics.