Flexistipes sinusarabici,a novel genus and species of eubacteria occurring in the Atlantis II Deep brines of the Red Sea

Four isolates of a gram-negative flexible bacterium have been obtained from brine water samples of the Atlantis II Deep of the Red Sea at a depth of 2000 m. One isolate (MAS 10) was studied in detail. Cells are nonmotile, flexible rods, measuring about 0.3 m in width and 5 to 50 m in length. The new organisms are heterotrophs growing anaerobically on yeast extract, meat extract, peptone, tryptone, and, less efficiently, on acetate and casamino acids. Growth occurs between 30% and 53°C at pH 6 to 8 in the presence of at least 3% NaCl. The shortest doubling time is 8.5 h under optimal growth conditions. Cells are sensitive to the antibiotics penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, and streptomycin, but resistant to tetracyclin and rifamipicin. The GC-content of the DNA is 39 mol%. Based on their 16S rRNA the new isolates group with the general cluster of eubacterial phyla. Since they show no specific relationship to any of them, a new genus is described, which is named Flexistipes, the flexible stick. Type species is Flexistipes sinusarabici strain MAS 10 (DSM 4947).