title: Defluviitoga tunisiensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a thermophilic bacterium isolated from a mesothermic and anaerobic whey digester.
abstract: Strain SulfLac1(T), a thermophilic, anaerobic and slightly halophilic, rod-shaped bacterium with a sheath-like outer structure (toga), was isolated from a whey digester in Tunisia. The strain's non-motile cells measured 3-30×1 µm and appeared singly, in pairs or as long chains. The novel strain reduced thiosulfate and elemental sulfur, but not sulfate or sulfite, into sulfide. It grew at 37-65 °C (optimum 55 °C), at pH 6.5-7.9 (optimum pH 6.9) and with 0.2-3 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0.5 %). The G+C content of the strain's genomic DNA was 33.6 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain SulfLac1(T) was most closely related to Petrotoga mobilis (91.4 % sequence similarity). Based on phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic evidence, strain SulfLac1(T) represents a novel species of a new genus within the order Thermotogales, for which the name Defluviitoga tunisiensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is SulfLac1(T) ( = DSM 23805(T) = JCM 17210(T)).
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie et de Technologie Microbienne, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie, Centre Urbain Nord, BP 676, 1080 Tunis, Tunisia.|Laboratoire de Microbiologie H10, UMR 235, Aix-Marseille Univ., Case 925, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Wajdi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ben Hania
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie et de Technologie Microbienne, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie, Centre Urbain Nord, BP 676, 1080 Tunis, Tunisia.|Laboratoire de Microbiologie H10, UMR 235, Aix-Marseille Univ., Case 925, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Ramzi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Godbane
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie H10, UMR 235, Aix-Marseille Univ., Case 925, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Postec
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie et de Technologie Microbienne, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie, Centre Urbain Nord, BP 676, 1080 Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Moktar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamdi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie H10, UMR 235, Aix-Marseille Univ., Case 925, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ollivier
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie H10, UMR 235, Aix-Marseille Univ., Case 925, 163 Avenue de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Laure
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fardeau
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D014416:Tunisia; D000067816:Whey Proteins
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008894:Milk Proteins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D013431:Sulfates; D000067816:Whey Proteins