Sulfurivermis fontis gen. nov., sp nov., a sulfur-oxidizing autotroph, and proposal of Thioprofundaceae fam. nov

A novel Gram-stain-negative, chemolithoautotrophic sulfur oxidizer, strain JG42(T), was isolated from a hot spring microbial mat. As an electron donor for autotrophic growth, strain JG42(T) utilized sulfide, thiosulfate, tetrathionate and elemental sulfur. Cells of strain JG42(T) were oxidase-positive and catalase-negative. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 65 mol%. The predominant cellular fatty acid was C-16:0. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that strain JG42(T) belonged to the order Chromatiales, but sequence similarities to the known species were less than 94 %. On the basis of its properties, strain JG42(T) (= DSM 104776(T) = NBRC 112696(T)) is proposed as the type strain of a novel species of a new genus, Sulfurivermis fontis gen. nov., sp. nov., which belongs to the family Thioalkalispiraceae. A new family, Thioprofundaceae fam. nov., is also proposed to accommodate the genus Thioprofundum, transferred from the family Thioalkalispiraceae.