Aerobic endospore-forming bacteria from geothermal environments in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, and Candlemas Island, South Sandwich archipelago, with the proposal of Bacillus fumarioli sp nov.

Aerobic endospore-forming bacteria were isolated from soils taken from acti ve fumaroles on Mount Rittmann and Mount Melbourne in northern Victoria Lan d, Antarctica, and from active and inactive fumaroles on Candlemas Island, South Sandwich archipelago. The Mt Rittmann and Mt Melbourne soils yielded a dominant, moderately thermophilic and acidophilic, aerobic endosporeforme r growing at ph 5.5 and 50 degrees C, and further strains of the same organ ism were isolated from a cold, dead fumarole at Clinker Gulch, Candlemas Is land. Amplified rDNA restriction analysis, SDS-PAGE and routine phenotypic tests show that the Candlemas Island isolates are not distinguishable from the Mt Rittmann strains, although the two sites are 5600 km apart, and 16S rDNA sequence comparisons and DNA relatedness data support the proposal of a new species. Bacillus fumarioli. the type strain of which is LMG 17489(T) .