DESULFOVIBRIO GABONENSIS SP-NOV, A NEW MODERATELY HALOPHILIC SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIUM ISOLATED FROM AN OIL PIPELINE

Two moderately halophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from an African oil pipeline and designated strains SEER 3640 and SEER 284 0(T) (T = type strain), Both of these strains possessed traits that de fine the genus Desulfovibrio, The cells of both isolates were motile c urved rods that had a single polar flagellum and contained desulfoviri din, and both isolates utilized lactate, pyruvate, malate, fumarate, s uccinate, and ethanol in the presence of sulfate, Sulfite, thiosulfate , and elemental sulfur were also used as electron accepters in the pre sence of lactate, However, both strains tolerated higher concentration s of NaCl (up to 17%) than all other Desulfovibrio species except Desu lfovibrio halophilus, which tolerated a similar level of NaCl, The res ults of a 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis also placed the designated t ype strain, strain SEER 2840, in the genus Desulfovibrio but revealed that this organism was significantly different from D, halophilus and all other validly described Desulfovibrio species, On the basis of our results, we propose that strain SEER 2840(T) is a member of a new spe cies of the genus Desulfovibrio, Desulfovibrio gabonensis, The type st rain of D, gabonensis is strain SEER 2840 (= DSM 10636).