Abstract
A novel moderately thermophilic, Gram‐positive staining, rod‐shaped, spore‐forming, motile, facultative anaerobic, and α‐glucosidase producing strain A343^T^, was isolated from a high temperature well‐pipeline sediment sample in Salavatli province of Aydin, Turkey. Growth was observed at 37–69 ºC (optimum 60 °C), at pH 5.5–9.5 (optimum 8.0–9.0) and at salinities from 0 to 4.5% (w/v) (optimum 2%). Strain A343^T^ was able to grow on a wide range of carbon sources. Gelatin and starch utilization, amylase, catalase and oxidase activities, reduction of nitrate to nitrite were all positive. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 45.1 mol%. The major menaquinone was MK‐7. The dominant cellular fatty acids were: iso‐C15:0, C16:0, and iso‐C17:0. The phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain A343^T^ belonged to the genus Anoxybacillus. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain A343^T^ and the type strains of recognized Anoxybacillus species was ranged from 95.8 to 99.4%. DNA‐DNA hybridization revealed low homology with its closest relative Anoxybacillus kamchatkensis (49.7%). In addition to the total cell protein profiles, the Rep‐PCR and the intergenic 16S–23S rRNA gene fingerprinting profiles differentiated strain A343^T^ from all of the reference Anoxybacillus species used. Based upon phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic evidence, strain A343^T^ was assigned to a new species within the genus Anoxybacillus, A. salavatliensis sp. nov. (The type strain A343^T^= DSM 22626^T^ = NCIMB 14579^T^). The 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequence of strain A343^T^ is available in the GenBank database under the accession number – EU326496. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)