First description of a new uncultured epsilon sulfur bacterium colonizing marine mangrove sediment in the Caribbean: Thiovulum sp. strain karukerense

Abstract

Here, the first description of an epsilon sulfur-oxidizing bacterium from sulfide-rich sediments of marine mangrove in Caribbean is reported. According to TEM, this new strain contains intracytoplasmic large internal sulfur granules as confirmed by EDXS analyses performed using ESEM. The sulfur distribution obtained for this sulfur-oxidizing bacterial strain allows to conclude that elemental sulfur is formed as an intermediate oxidation product and stored intracellularly. According to conventional SEM observations, bacterial cells are ovoid, extremely motile by lophotrichous flagella. Phylogenetic analyses based on the analysis of partial sequence of 16S rDNA confirm that such bacterial strain belongs to the Thiovulum cluster and could be a representative of a new species in this poorly studied genus of sulfur-oxidizing free-living bacteria. Thus, reduced sediment of marine mangrove represents sulfide-rich environment sustaining development of both gamma and epsilon sulfur-oxidizing Proteobacteria.

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