Hisaya Kojima

A novel facultatively autotrophic bacterium, designated strain sk43H(T), was isolated from water of a freshwater lake in Japan. Cells of the isolate were curved rods, motile and gram-reaction-negative. Strain sk43H(T) was facultatively anaerobic and autotrophic growth was observed only under anaerobic conditions. The isolate oxidized thiosulfate, elemental sulfur and hydrogen as sole energy sources for autotrophic growth and could utilize nitrate as an electron acceptor. Growth was observed at 8

A novel facultatively anaerobic, sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, strain skB26(T), was isolated from anoxic water of a freshwater lake in Japan. The cells were rod-shaped, motile and Gram-negative. Strain skB26(T) oxidized elemental sulfur and thiosulfate to sulfate as sole energy sources. Strain skB26(T) was microaerobic and could also utilize nitrate as an electron acceptor, reducing it to nitrogen. Growth was observed at temperatures below 28 °C; optimum growth was observed at 22°C. The pH range f

A novel autotrophic bacterium, strain skN76T, was isolated from sediment of a lake in Japan. As sole electron donor to support chemolithoautotrophic growth, the strain oxidized thiosulfate, tetrathionate and elemental sulfur. For growth, the optimum temperature was 42–45 °C and the optimum pH was 6.8–8.2. The cells were Gram-stain-negative, catalase-positive and oxidase-positive. The strain exhibited changes in morphology depending on growth temperature. Cells grown at the optimum temperature we

Even in the current era of metagenomics, the interpretation of nucleotide sequence data is primarily dependent on knowledge obtained from a limited number of microbes isolated in pure culture. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to expand the variety of strains available in pure culture, to make reliable connections between physiological characteristics and genomic information. In this study, two sulfur oxidizers that potentially represent two novel species were isolated and characterized. The

Pathologic examination at autopsy of a 74-year-old man with central diabetes insipidus revealed that he had a chronic lymphocytic inflammation limited to the infundibulum, stalk, and posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. No meningitis, sarcoidosis, or granulomas were detected, though there was evidence of chronic pancreatitis. In addition, neuronal loss with gliosis was observed bilaterally in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei. The unusual localized inflammatory brain lesion was conside

Planktonic sulfur oxidizers are important constituents of ecosystems in stratified water bodies, and contribute to sulfide detoxification. In contrast to marine environments, taxonomic identities of major planktonic sulfur oxidizers in freshwater lakes still remain largely unknown. Bacterioplankton community structure was analyzed in a stratified freshwater lake, Lake Mizugaki in Japan. In the clone libraries of 16S rRNA gene, clones very closely related to a sulfur oxidizer isolated from this l

A novel sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, strain HA5T, was isolated from sediment of a lake in Japan. The cells were rod-shaped (0.3-0.5 × 1.2-6.0 μm) and Gram-stain-negative. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63 mol%. The major components in the cellular fatty acid profile were C16 : 0 and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c). The strain oxidized thiosulfate, tetrathionate and elemental sulfur as electron donors to support autotrophic growth. Growth was observed at a temperature range

Filamentous, gliding, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria of the genus Thioploca were found on sediments in profundal areas of Lake Biwa, a Japanese freshwater mesotrophic lake, and were characterized morphologically and phylogenetically. The Lake Biwa Thioploca resembled morphologically Thioploca ingrica, a brackish water species from a Danish fjord. The diameters of individual trichomes were 3 to 5.6 microm; the diameters of complete Thioploca filaments ranged from 18 to 75 micro m. The cell lengths ra

Methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) gain energy from the oxidation of methane and may play important roles in freshwater ecosystems. In this study, the community structure of planktonic MOB was investigated in a subtropical reservoir. Bacterial community structure was investigated through the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. Three groups of phylogenetically distinct MOB were detected in the clone libraries of polymerase chain reaction products obtained with universal primers. The groups belonged to t

A novel autotrophic, thermophilic bacterium, strain TF1T, was isolated from a hot spring in Japan. Cells of strain TF1T were motile, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, 1.0-2.0 μm in length and 0.5-0.6 μm in width. Major components in the cellular fatty acid profile were C16:0, C18:0 and anteiso-C17:0. The temperature range for growth was 40-77 °C, and optimum temperature was 75 °C. The pH range for growth was 5.9-9.5, and the optimum pH was 7.5-8.8. Strain TF1T grew chemolithoautotrophically by di

Facultative autotrophs of the genus Sulfuritalea within the class Betaproteobacteria have been predicted to be an important bacterial population in stratified freshwater lakes based on previous PCR-based studies. Here, we designed a new probe specific for the genus Sulfuritalea and performed catalysed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridisation to enumerate cells of Sulfuritalea species throughout the water column in a stratified freshwater lake. The cells stained with the Sulfuritale

Summary 1. The assemblage of planktonic methanotrophs in a stratified freshwater lake was investigated. Vertical patterns were analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, using the primer pair specific for 16S rRNA genes of type I methanotrophs. 2. The resulting banding patterns could be divided into three distinct groups, and sequenced bands were all related to the Methylobacter species. No amplicon was obtained with the primer pair specific for type II methanotrophs. 3. Cloning analys