Nanobdella aerobiophila gen. nov., sp. nov., a thermoacidophilic, obligate ectosymbiotic archaeon, and proposal of Nanobdellaceae fam. nov., Nanobdellales ord. nov. and Nanobdellia class. nov.

A co- culture of a novel thermoacidophilic, obligate symbiotic archaeon, designated as strain MJ1T, with its specific host archaeon Metallosphaera sedula strain MJ1HA was obtained from a terrestrial hot spring in Japan. Strain MJ1T grew in the co- culture under aerobic conditions. Coccoid cells of strain MJ1T were 200-500 nm in diameter, and attached to the MJ1HA cells in the co- culture. The ranges and optima of the growth temperature and pH of strain MJ1T in the co- culture were 60-75 degrees C (optimum, 65-70 degrees C) and pH 1.0-4.0 (optimum, pH 2.5), respectively. Core lipids of dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGT)-3 and GDGT- 4 were highly abundant in MJ1T cells concentrated from the co- culture. Strain MJ1T has a small genome (0.67 Mbp) lacking genes for biosynthesis of essential biomolecules, such as nucleotides, lipids and ATP. The genomic DNA G+C content was 24.9 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain MJ1T was most closely related to that of the cultivated species, 'Nanopusillus acidilobi' strain N7A (85.8 % similarity). Based on phylogenetic and physiological characteristics, we propose the name Nanobdella aerobiophila gen. nov., sp. nov. to accommodate the strain MJ1T (=JCM 33616T=DSM 111728T). In addition, we propose the names Nanobdellaceae fam. nov., Nanobdellales ord. nov., and Nanobdellia class. nov. to accommodate the novel genus.

Automated summary

A novel thermoacidophilic, obligate symbiotic archaeon named strain MJ1T was cultivated with its specific host archaeon Metallosphaera sedula strain MJ1HA from a terrestrial hot spring in Japan. The co-culture showed aerobic growth of strain MJ1T, with coccoid cells attaching to the MJ1HA cells. The optimal growth temperature and pH of strain MJ1T in the co-culture were 65-70°C and pH 2.5, respectively.