A novel iron-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophic bacterium, strain ET2T, was isolated from a deep-sea sediment in a hydrothermal field of the Bayonnaise knoll of the Izu-Ogasawara arc. Cells were bean-shaped, curved short rods. Growth was observed at a temperature range of 15-30 °C (optimum 25 °C, doubling time 24 h) and a pH range of 5.8-7.0 (optimum pH 6.4) in the presence of NaCl at a range of 1.0-4.0 % (optimum 2.75 %). The isolate was a microaerophilic, strict chemolithoautotroph capable of growing using ferrous iron and molecular oxygen (O2) as the sole electron donor and acceptor, respectively; carbon dioxide as the sole carbon source; and either ammonium or nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the new isolate was related to the only previously isolated Mariprofundus species, M. ferrooxydans. Although relatively high 16S rRNA gene similarity (95 %) was found between the new isolate and M. ferrooxydans, the isolate was distinct in terms of cellular fatty acid composition, genomic DNA G+C content and cell morphology. Furthermore, genomic comparison between ET2T and M. ferrooxydans PV-1 indicated that the genomic dissimilarity of these strains met the standard for species-level differentiation. On the basis of its physiological and molecular characteristics, strain ET2T (= KCTC 15556T = JCM 30585 T) represents a novel species of Mariprofundus, for which the name Mariprofundus micogutta is proposed. We also propose the subordinate taxa Mariprofundales ord. nov. and Zetaproteobacteria classis nov. in the phylum Proteobacteria.
Keywords: Bayonnaise knoll; Hydrothermal field; Iron-oxidizing bacteria; Mariprofundus sp.; Zetaproteobacteria.