Thermophilic Acetogenic Bacteria from Hot Springs of the Uzon Caldera

Analysis of microbial community composition from five hot springs of the Uzon Caldera (Kamchatka, Russia) using molecular and classical microbiological methods revealed that these thermal ecosystems are a promising source for isolating new acetogenic prokaryotes, despite their low abundance within the communities. Stable enrichment cultures, obtained under chemolithoautotrophic conditions with H2 and CO2, included bacteria of the genus Aceticella and representatives of an unclassified genus of the family Neomoorellaceae. Subsequent work resulted in the isolation of a pure culture of a novel acetogenic bacterium, which likely represents a new genus and species within the family Neomoorellaceae.