Desulfocella halophila gen. nov., sp. nov., a halophilic, fatty-acid-oxidizing, sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from sediments of the Great Salt Lake

A new halophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain GSL-But2(T), was isolated from surface sediment of the Southern arm of the Great Salt Lake, UT, USA. The organism grew with a number of straight-chain fatty acids (C-4-C-16), 2-methylbutyrate, L-alanine and pyruvate as electron donors, Butyrate was oxidized incompletely to acetate. Sulfate, but not sulfite or thiosulfate, served as an electron acceptor, Growth was observed between 2 and 19% (w/v) NaCl with an optimum at 4-5 % (w/v) NaCl. The optimal temperature and ph for growth were around 34 degrees C and ph 6.5-7.3, respectively, The generation time under optimal conditions in defined medium was around 28 h, compared to 20 h in complex medium containing yeast extract, The G+C content was 35.0 mol%, 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain GSL-But2(T) belongs to the family Desulfobacteriaceae within the delta-subclass of the Proteobacteria and suggested that strain GSL-But2(T) represents a member of a new genus. The name Desulfocella halophila gen, nov., sp, nov. is proposed for this organism. The type strain of D. halophila is strain GSL-But2(T)(= DSM 11763(T) = ATCC 700426(T)).