Halanaerobium sehlinense sp. nov., an extremely halophilic, fermentative, strictly anaerobic bacterium from sediments of the hypersaline lake Sehline Sebkha.

A strictly anaerobic, extremely halophilic, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from the hypersaline (>20% NaCl) surface sediments of Sehline Sebkha in Tunisia. The strain, designated 1Sehel(T), was strictly halophilic and proliferated at NaCl concentrations of between 5% and 30% (saturation), with optimal growth at 20% NaCl. Strain 1Sehel(T) was non-spore-forming, non-motile, appearing singly or in pairs, or occasionally as long chains and measured 0.

Macellibacteroides fermentans gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Porphyromonadaceae isolated from an upflow anaerobic filter treating abattoir wastewaters.

A novel obligately anaerobic, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped mesophilic bacterium, which stained Gram-positive but showed the typical cell wall structure of Gram-negative bacteria, was isolated from an upflow anaerobic filter treating abattoir wastewaters in Tunisia. The strain, designated LIND7H(T), grew at 20-45 °C (optimum 35-40 °C) and at pH 5.0-8.

Characterization of Microaerobacter geothermalis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel microaerophilic, nitrate- and nitrite-reducing thermophilic bacterium isolated from a terrestrial hot spring in Tunisia.

A novel thermophilic anaerobic and microaerophilic bacterium (optimal growth in the presence of 5-10% O(2)), strain Nad S1(T) was isolated from the terrestrial hot spring of Hammam Sidi Jdidi, Nabeul, Tunisia. Cells were motile rods having a Gram-positive cell wall structure. Strain Nad S1(T) grew optimally at 55 degrees C (range 37-70 degrees C).

Studies on the Biodiversity of Halophilic Microorganisms Isolated from El-Djerid Salt Lake (Tunisia) under Aerobic Conditions.

Bacterial and archaeal aerobic communities were recovered from sediments from the shallow El-Djerid salt lake in Tunisia, and their salinity gradient distribution was established. Six samples for physicochemical and microbiological analyses were obtained from 6 saline sites in the lake for physico-chemical and microbiological analyses. All samples studied were considered hypersaline with NaCl concentration ranging from 150 to 260 g/L.

Characterization of Halanaerobaculum tunisiense gen. nov., sp. nov., a new halophilic fermentative, strictly anaerobic bacterium isolated from a hypersaline lake in Tunisia.

A new halophilic anaerobe was isolated from the hypersaline surface sediments of El-Djerid Chott, Tunisia. The isolate, designated as strain 6SANG, grew at NaCl concentrations ranging from 14 to 30%, with an optimum at 20-22%. Strain 6SANG was a non-spore-forming, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, appearing singly, in pairs, or occasionally as long chains (0.