Thiomicrospira(Tms) species are small sulfur-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophic members of the Gammaproteobacteria. Whilst the type species Tms. pelophila and closely related Tms. thyasirae exhibit canonical spiral morphology under sub-optimal growth conditions, most species are vibrios or rods. The 16S rRNA gene diversity is vast, with identities as low as 91.6 % for Tms. pelophila versus Tms. frisia, for example. Thiomicrospira was examined with closely related genera Hydrogenovibrio and Thioalkalimicrobium and, to rationalize organisms on the basis of the 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, physiology and morphology, we reclassify Tms. kuenenii, Tms. crunogena, Tms. thermophila and Tms. halophila to Hydrogenovibrio kuenenii comb. nov., H. crunogenus corrig. comb. nov., H. thermophilus corrig. comb. nov. and H. halophilus corrig. comb. nov. We reclassify Tms. frisia, Tms. arctica, Tms. psychrophila and Tms. chilensis to Thiomicrorhabdus (Tmr) gen. nov., as Tmr. frisia comb. nov., Tmr. arctica comb. nov., Tmr. psychrophila comb. nov. and Tmr. chilensis comb. nov. - the type species of Thiomicrorhabdus is Tmr. frisia. We demonstrate that Thioalkalimicrobium species fall within the genus Thiomicrospira sensu stricto, thus reclassifying them as Tms. aerophila corrig. comb. nov., Tms. microaerophila corrig. comb. nov., Tms. cyclica corrig. comb. nov. and Tms. sibirica corrig. comb. nov. We provide emended descriptions of the genera Thiomicrospira and Hydrogenovibrio and of Tms. thyasirae.

The genus Thiobacillus comprises four species with validly published names, of which Thiobacillus aquaesulis DSM 4255T (=ATCC 43788T) is the only species that can grow heterotrophically or mixotrophically - the rest being obligate autotrophs - and has a significant metabolic difference in not producing tetrathionate during the oxidation of thiosulfate during autotrophic growth. On the basis of this and differential chemotaxonomic properties and a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 93.4 % to the type species Thiobacillus thioparus DSM 505T, we propose that it is moved to a novel genus, Annwoodia gen. nov., for which the type species is Annwoodia aquaesulis gen. nov., comb. nov. We confirm that the position of the genus Thiobacillus in the Betaproteobacteria falls within the Nitrosomonadales rather than the Hydrogenophilales as previously proposed. Within the Nitrosomonadales we propose the circumscription of genera to form the Thiobacilliaceae fam. nov. and the Sterolibacteriaceae fam. nov. We propose the merging of the family Methylophilaceae into the Nitrosomonadales, and that the Sulfuricellaceae be merged into the Gallionellaceae, leaving the orders Methylophilales and Sulfuricellales defunct. In the Rhodocyclales we propose the Azonexaceae fam. nov. and the Zoogloeaceae fam. nov. We also reject the Hydrogenophilales from the Betaproteobacteria on the basis of a very low 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the class-proper as well as physiological properties, forming the Hydrogenophilalia class. nov. in the 'Proteobacteria'. We provide emended descriptions of Thiobacillus, Hydrogenophilales, Hydrogenophilaceae, Nitrosomonadales, Gallionellaceae, Rhodocyclaceae and the Betaproteobacteria.

Clostridium difficile is the primary cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea globally. In unfavorable environments, the organism produces highly resistant spores which can survive microbicidal insult. Our previous research determined the ability of C. difficile spores to adhere to clinical surfaces, finding that spores had markedly different hydrophobic properties and adherence abilities. Investigation into the effect of the microbicide sodium dichloroisocyanurate on C. difficile spore transmission revealed that sublethal concentrations increased spore adherence without reducing viability. The present study examined the ability of spores to transmit across clinical surfaces and their response to an in-use disinfection concentration of 1,000 ppm of chlorine-releasing agent sodium dichloroisocyanurate. In an effort to understand if these surfaces contribute to nosocomial spore transmission, surgical isolation gowns, hospital-grade stainless steel, and floor vinyl were spiked with 1 × 106 spores/ml of two types of C. difficile spore preparations: crude spores and purified spores. The hydrophobicity of each spore type versus clinical surface was examined via plate transfer assay and scanning electron microscopy. The experiment was repeated, and spiked clinical surfaces were exposed to 1,000 ppm sodium dichloroisocyanurate at the recommended 10-min contact time. Results revealed that the hydrophobicity and structure of clinical surfaces can influence spore transmission and that outer spore surface structures may play a part in spore adhesion. Spores remained viable on clinical surfaces after microbicide exposure at the recommended disinfection concentration, demonstrating ineffectual sporicidal action. This study showed that C. difficile spores can transmit and survive between various clinical surfaces despite appropriate use of microbicides. IMPORTANCE Clostridium difficile is a health care-acquired organism and the causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Its spores are implicated in fecal to oral transmission from contaminated surfaces in the health care environment due to their adherent nature. Contaminated surfaces are cleaned using high-strength chemicals to remove and kill the spores; however, despite appropriate infection control measures, there is still high incidence of C. difficile infection in patients in the United States. Our research examined the effect of a high-strength biocide on spores of C. difficile which had been spiked onto a range of clinically relevant surfaces, including isolation gowns, stainless steel, and floor vinyl. This study found that C. difficile spores were able to survive exposure to appropriate concentrations of biocide, highlighting the need to examine the effectiveness of infection control measures to prevent spore transmission and to consider the prevalence of biocide resistance when decontaminating health care surfaces.

Thiobacillus thioparus DSM 505T is one of first two isolated strains of inorganic sulfur-oxidising Bacteria. The original strain of T. thioparus was lost almost 100 years ago and the working type strain is Culture CT (=DSM 505T = ATCC 8158T) isolated by Starkey in 1934 from agricultural soil at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. It is an obligate chemolithoautotroph that conserves energy from the oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds using the Kelly-Trudinger pathway and uses it to fix carbon dioxide It is not capable of heterotrophic or mixotrophic growth. The strain has a genome size of 3,201,518 bp. Here we report the genome sequence, annotation and characteristics. The genome contains 3,135 protein coding and 62 RNA coding genes. Genes encoding the transaldolase variant of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle were also identified and an operon encoding carboxysomes, along with Smith’s biosynthetic horseshoe in lieu of Krebs’ cycle sensu stricto. Terminal oxidases were identified, viz. cytochrome c oxidase (cbb3, EC 1.9.3.1) and ubiquinol oxidase (bd, EC 1.10.3.10). There is a partial sox operon of the Kelly-Friedrich pathway of inorganic sulfur-oxidation that contains soxXYZAB genes but lacking soxCDEF, there is also a lack of the DUF302 gene previously noted in the sox operon of other members of the ‘Proteobacteria’ that can use trithionate as an energy source. In spite of apparently not growing anaerobically with denitrification, the nar, nir, nor and nos operons encoding enzymes of denitrification are found in the T. thioparus genome, in the same arrangements as in the true denitrifier T. denitrificans.

Thermithiobacillus tepidarius DSM 3134T was originally isolated (1983) from the waters of a sulfidic spring entering the Roman Baths (Temple of Sulis-Minerva) at Bath, United Kingdom and is an obligate chemolithoautotroph growing at the expense of reduced sulfur species. This strain has a genome size of 2,958,498 bp. Here we report the genome sequence, annotation and characteristics. The genome comprises 2,902 protein coding and 66 RNA coding genes. Genes responsible for the transaldolase variant of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle were identified along with a biosynthetic horseshoe in lieu of Krebs’ cycle sensu stricto. Terminal oxidases were identified, viz. cytochrome c oxidase (cbb3, EC 1.9.3.1) and ubiquinol oxidase (bd, EC 1.10.3.10). Metalloresistance genes involved in pathways of arsenic and cadmium resistance were found. Evidence of horizontal gene transfer accounting for 5.9 % of the protein-coding genes was found, including transfer from Thiobacillus spp. and Methylococcus capsulatus Bath, isolated from the same spring. A sox gene cluster was found, similar in structure to those from other Acidithiobacillia – by comparison with Thiobacillus thioparus and Paracoccus denitrificans, an additional gene between soxA and soxB was found, annotated as a DUF302-family protein of unknown function. As the Kelly-Friedrich pathway of thiosulfate oxidation (encoded by sox) is not used in Thermithiobacillus spp., the role of the operon (if any) in this species remains unknown. We speculate that DUF302 and sox genes may have a role in periplasmic trithionate oxidation.

The genus Thiomicrorhabdus (Tmr) in the Piskirickettsiaceae in the Thiotrichales of the Gammaproteobacteria contains four species of sulfur-oxidising obligate chemolithoautotroph with validly published names, all previously classified as Thiomicrospira (Tms) species. Here we demonstrate that Thiomicrospira hydrogeniphila, a recently published hydrogen-utilising chemolithoautotroph closely related to Thiomicrorhabdus frisia (type species of Thiomicrorhabdus) should be classified as a member of the genus Thiomicrorhabdus and not Thiomicrospira, as Thiomicrorhabdus hydrogeniphila comb. nov., on the basis of comparative physiology and morphology as well as 16S rRNA (rrs) gene identity of Tms. hydrogeniphila MAS2 being closer to that of Tmr. frisia JB-A2 (99.1 %) than to Tms. pelophila DSM 1534 (90.5 %) or Hydrogenovibrio marinus MH-110 (94.1 %), and on the basis of the topology of 16S rRNA gene maximum likelihood trees, which clearly place Tms. hydrogeniphila within the genus Thiomicrorhabdus. It was also noted that thiosulfate-grown Thiomicrorhabdus spp. can be distinguished from Thiomicrospira spp. or Hydrogenovibrio spp. on the basis of the 3 dominant fatty acids (C16 : 1, C18 : 1 and C16 : 0), and from other Thiomicrorhabdus spp. on the basis of the fourth dominant fatty acid, which varies between the species of this genus - which could provide a useful diagnostic method. We provide an emended description of Thiomicrorhabdus (Boden R, Scott KM, Williams J, Russel S, Antonen K et al.Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2017;67:1140-1151) to take into account the properties of Thiomicrorhabdus hydrogeniphila comb. nov.

The metabolism of C 1 organosulfur compounds by the Bacteria is important in the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur and carbon and in climate regulation in terms of mediating release of, e.g., dimethylsulfide from the oceans. Herein we review the canon of work on the metabolism of dimethylsulfide, dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylsulfone, methanesulfonate, dimethyldisulfide, and methanethiol, in terms of dissimilation to formaldehyde or carbon dioxide when used as carbon and energy sources by methylotrophs or autotrophs, oxidation to sulfite prior to assimilation as sulfur sources, and use as respiratory terminal electron acceptors. We discuss the enzymology of the metabolism of these compounds and propose a revision to the Enzyme Commission classification to some of them where multiple enzymes are clearly grouped under one name at present. We also provide methodologies for enzyme assays, for the safe handling and quantification of these compounds, and for the synthesis of carbon-14, carbon-11, sulfur-34, and sulfur-34 compounds for use in physiological and ecological studies.

The metabolism of C 1 organosulfur compounds by the Bacteria is important in the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur and carbon and in climate regulation in terms of mediating release of, e.g., dimethylsulfide from the oceans. Herein we review the canon of work on the metabolism of dimethylsulfide, dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylsulfone, methanesulfonate, dimethyldisulfide, and methanethiol, in terms of dissimilation to formaldehyde or carbon dioxide when used as carbon and energy sources by methylotrophs or autotrophs, oxidation to sulfite prior to assimilation as sulfur sources, and use as respiratory terminal electron acceptors. We discuss the enzymology of the metabolism of these compounds and propose a revision to the Enzyme Commission classification to some of them where multiple enzymes are clearly grouped under one name at present. We also provide methodologies for enzyme assays, for the safe handling and quantification of these compounds, and for the synthesis of carbon-14, carbon-11, sulfur-34, and sulfur-34 compounds for use in physiological and ecological studies.