Detection of a cultivated hyperthermophilic archaeon of the genus Sulfophobococcus in a methane tank operated in a thermophilic regime
Slobodkina, G.B.; Slobodkin, A.I.; Turova, T.P.; Kostrikina, N.A.; Bonch-Osmolovskaia, E.A.
Mikrobiologiia 73(5): 716-720
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0026-3656 PMID: 15595524 Document Number: 574727
A stable association of hyperthermophilic microorganisms (82 C), which contained mostly cocci and a minor amount of non-spore-forming rods, was obtained from the fermented sludge of a methane tank used to process municipal wastewaters under thermophilic conditions (50 C). PCR amplification of 16S rRNA genes using total DNA isolated from this association and archaea-specific primers, followed by sequencing of the product obtained, showed that the archaeal component was represented by a single nucleotide sequence, which was 99.9% homologous to 16S rRNA gene of Sulfophobococcus zilligii. Thus, a hyperthermophilic archaeon was for the first time detected in a system of anaerobic biological treatment of wastewater. In addition, this is the first report on the detection of a cultivated member of Crenarchaeota in anthropogenic habitats with neutral pH.