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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2001, p. 3077-3085, Vol. 67, No. 7
Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie und
Archaeenzentrum, Universität Regensburg, D-93053
Regensburg,1 and Institut für
Geowissenschaften, Universität Kiel, D-24098
Kiel,3 Germany, and Exobiology
Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
940352
Received 12 February 2001/Accepted 17 April 2001
The brine-seawater interface of the Kebrit Deep, northern Red Sea,
was investigated for the presence of microorganisms using phylogenetic
analysis combined with cultivation methods. Under strictly anaerobic
culture conditions, novel halophiles were isolated. The new rod-shaped
isolates belong to the halophilic genus Halanaerobium and are the first representatives of the genus obtained from deep-sea, anaerobic brine pools. Within the genus Halanaerobium,
they represent new species which grow chemoorganotrophically at NaCl
concentrations ranging from 5 to 34%. The cellular fatty acid
compositions are consistent with those of other
Halanaerobium representatives, showing unusually large
amounts of
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.7.3077-3085.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Microbial Diversity of the Brine-Seawater Interface
of the Kebrit Deep, Red Sea, Studied via 16S rRNA Gene Sequences
and Cultivation Methods
7 and
11 16:1 fatty acids. Phylogenetic analysis of
the brine-seawater interface sample revealed the presence of various
bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences dominated by cultivated members of
the bacterial domain, with the majority affiliated with the genus
Halanaerobium. The new Halanaerobium 16S
rRNA clone sequences showed the highest similarity (99.9%) to the
sequence of isolate KT-8-13 from the Kebrit Deep brine. In this initial
survey, our polyphasic approach demonstrates that novel halophiles
thrive in the anaerobic, deep-sea brine pool of the Kebrit Deep, Red
Sea. They may contribute significantly to the anaerobic degradation of
organic matter enriched at the brine-seawater interface.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Lehrstuhl
für Mikrobiologie, Universität Regensburg,
Universitätsstr. 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany. Phone:
0941/943-3180. Fax: 0941/943-2403. E-mail:
wolfgang.eder{at}biologie.uni-regensburg.de.
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