Aminivibrio pyruvatiphilus gen. nov., sp nov., an anaerobic, amino-acid-degrading bacterium from soil of a Japanese rice field

A novel anaerobic bacterium that could ferment amino acids and organic acids was isolated from an anaerobic, propionate-oxidizing enrichment culture originating from soil of a rice field in Japan. Cells of the isolate, designated strain 4F6E(T), were Gram-staining-negative, oxidase- and catalase-negative, non-spore-forming, vibrio-shaped, motile rods (0.8x2.0-2.5 mu m) with two or three lateral flagella. Growth occurred at 20-42 degrees C (optimum at 37-40 degrees C), at pH 6.4-8.4 (optimum at pH 7.3) and at 0-1.5% (w/v) NaCl (optimum at 0-0.5 %). Good growth occurred on glycine, serine, cysteine, pyruvate and citrate, whereas poor growth was observed on threonine, glutamine, L-malate, alpha-ketoglutarate, peptone and Casamino acids. In co-culture with the hydrogen-utilizing methanogen Methanobacterium formicicum JCM 10132(T), strain 4F6E(T) oxidized alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, aspartate, glutamate, histidine, asparagine and fumarate. Yeast extract was required for growth. The G+C content of genomic DNA was 61.9 mol%. A phylogenetic analysis based on comparison of the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the type strains of Fretibacterium fastidiosum, Aminobacterium colombiense and Aminobacterium mobile, members of the family Synergistaceae, were the closest relatives of strain 4F6E(T), with low sequence similarities (89.3, 89.5 and 86.2%, respectively). Strain 4F6E(T) contained iso-C-13:0 (24.43 %), iso-C-15:0 (16.47%) and C-19:1 omega 11c/C-19:1 omega 9c (16.32%) as the major fatty acids, which differed from those of F. fastidiosum, Aminobacterium colombiense and Aminobacterium mobile. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic differences between strain 4F6E(T) and the type strains of F fastidiosum and Aminobacterium species, we propose that strain 4F6E(T) represents a novel genus and species, Aminivibrio pyruvatiphilus gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Aminivibrio pyruvatiphilus is strain 4F6E(T) (=JCM 18417(T)=DSM 25964(T)).