Phylogenetic diversity of thermophilic carbohydrate degrading bacilli from Bulgarian hot springs

Phylogenetic diversity of culturable bacteria from genus Bacillus and related genera, isolated from 18 Bulgarian hot springs was investigated in association with their functional diversity. Sixty-seven thermophilic and facultative thermophilic strains were isolated under aerobic conditions at 60°C. Sixty-six of them belonged to eight species in four genera from Bacillus group: Anoxybacillus, Geobacillus, Brevibacillus and Bacillus. Representatives of the genus Anoxybacillus predominated. Based on phylogenetic analysis (<97% sequence similarity) four strains belonged to groups representing potentially novel species. Producers of carbohydrases, degrading 12 from the tested 13 substrates were isolated. About half of the isolates degraded amylose by exo- or endo-mechanism of action of their enzymes. The isolates degrading hemicellulose carbohydrates like arabinan, arabinoxylan, β-glucan, galactan, galactomannan and xyloglucan were reached to. Some of the microorganisms were able to uptake microbial polysaccharides like curdlan and gellan and their enzymes were between first reported thermostable enzymes in their groups, like gellan lyase and curdlan lyase A relation between species affiliation and their functional activity was observed—all A. gonensis strains were producer of amylolytic enzymes, most of Brevibacillus ruber strains were able to grow in a minimal medium with xanthan.