RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Imachi, Hiroyuki A1 Sakai, Sanae A1 Hirayama, Hisako A1 Nakagawa, Satoshi A1 Nunoura, Takuro A1 Takai, Ken A1 Horikoshi, KokiYR 2008 T1 Exilispira thermophila gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic, thermophilic spirochaete isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney JF International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, VO 58 IS 10 SP 2258 OP 2265 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.65727-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1466-5034, AB A novel thermophilic, anaerobic bacterium, strain RASENT, was isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney sample collected in the Iheya North field, Okinawa Trough, Japan, at a water depth of 982 m. The cells were motile, Gram-negative and helical with hooked ends, 0.23–0.28×15–27 μm in size with an approximate wavelength of 1.1–1.5 μm. Growth of the strain was observed at 37–60 °C (optimum 50 °C), in 2.5–3.5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 2.5–3 % NaCl) and at pH 6.0–7.5 (optimum pH 7.0). The strain grew on yeast extract only of the substrates examined in this study. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 27.1 mol%. Major fatty acids for the strain were C16 : 0, C18 : 1(Δ9) trans, C18 : 0 and C18 : 1(Δ9) cis. Based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain RASENT formed a deeply branching lineage within the phylum Spirochaetes and had only low levels of sequence similarity with other species of the phylum (range of similarity 72.1–80.6 %). Hence, we propose the name Exilispira thermophila gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Exilispira thermophila is strain RASENT (=JCM 14728T =NBRC 103205T =KCTC 5595T)., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijs.0.65727-0