Desulfatibacillum alkenivorans sp. nov., a novel n-alkene-degrading, sulfate-reducing bacterium, and emended description of the genus Desulfatibacillum

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Abstract
An alkene-degrading, sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain PF2803T, was isolated from oil-polluted sediments (Fos Harbour, France). The cells were found to be Gram-negative, non-sporulating, non-motile and to have a slightly curved rod shape. Optimum growth occurred at 1 % (w/v) NaCl, pH 6·8 and 28–30 °C. Strain PF2803T oxidized alkenes (from C8 to C23). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 57·8 mol% (HPLC). On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses, strain PF2803T belongs to the family ‘Desulfobacteraceae’ in the class ‘Deltaproteobacteria’, with Desulfatibacillum aliphaticivorans as its closest relative (99·6 % identity). Comparative sequence analyses of the dissimilatory sulfite reductase (dsrAB) gene supported the affiliation of strain PF2803T to the genus Desulfatibacillum. DNA–DNA hybridization with its closest taxon demonstrated 48·4 % similarity. On the basis of the results of physiological and genetic analyses, strain PF2803T is identified as a novel species of the genus Desulfatibacillum, for which the name Desulfatibacillum alkenivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PF2803T (=DSM 16219T=ATCC BAA-924T).