Rhodothermus marinus DSM 4252

Rhodothermus marinus is a thermohalophilic bacterium and is the only validly described species in the genus Rhodothermus. It is aerobic, chemoorganotrophic, has been isolated from marine habitats and grows from 54 to 77 degrees Celsius with optimal growth at 65 degrees Celsius. It grows best in 2% NaCl although growth can occur from 0.5% NaCl to over 6% NaCl. Thus it is therefore both thermophilic and slightly but strictly halophilic and can only grow in a very narrow zone in the submarine hot springs, close to their openings, determined by temperature and salt concentration as well as of content of O2 and organic material.Strain DSM 4252 (the type strain) was isolated in 1988 at 2-3m depth (at low tide) from a submarine hot spring at Reykjanes, Isafjardardjup Bay, off the south-west coast of Iceland (adapted from PMID 16075163 and J.Gen.Microbiol 134:299). Cells are 0.5 um in diameter and 2-2.5 um long, without flagella, non-spore forming and without lipid granules, although they form a slime capsule when grown in rich-media (adapted from 10.4056.sigs46736). (HAMAP: RHOM4)