Isolation of Desulfovibrio intestinalis sp nov from the hindgut of the lower termite Mastotermes darwiniensis

A Gram-negative, anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium was isolated from hindgut contents of the lower termite Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt (strain KMS2). Strain KMS2 is motile by a single polar flagellum. The isolate possesses desulfoviridin and catalase activity. The G+C content of its DNA is in the range of 54.5-55.5 mol% (strain KMS2). It respires hydrogen and different low molecular weight organic compounds in the presence of sulfate, thiosulfate, and sulfite, and also oxygen. The isolated strain ferments pyruvate. Fastest growth with a doubling time of 12.5 h was obtained at 37 degrees C and not at 28 degrees C, the temperature at which the termites were grown. The isolate showed a 16S rDNA sequence homology of 95.9% to Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774 and a DNA-DNA homology of 44.6% to D. desulfuricans Essex 6 (type strain). Based on its biochemical properties and 16S rDNA sequence, the isolate was assigned to a new species named Desulfovibrio intestinalis.