Thermotoga hypogea sp. nov., a xylanolytic, thermophilic bacterium from an oil-producing well

A new thermophilic, xylanolytic, strictly anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, strain SEBR 7054(T), was isolated from an African oil-producing well. Based on the presence of an outer sheath (toga) and 16S rRNA sequence analysis data, this organism was identified as a member of the genus Thermotoga. Strain SEBR 7054(T) possessed lateral flagella, had a G+C content of 50 mol%, produced traces of ethanol from glucose but no lactate, and grew optimally in the presence of 0 to 0.2% NaCl at 70 degrees C, Its phenotypic and phylogenetic characteristics clearly differed from those reported for the five previously validly described Thermotoga species. Therefore, we propose that strain SEBR 7054(T) is a member of a new species of the genus Thermotoga, Thermotoga hypogea sp, nov. The type strain of T. hypogea is SEBR 7054 (= DSM 11164).