Three Clostridium strains were isolated from deep-sea sediments collected at a depth of 6.3-7.3 km in the Japan Trench. Physiological characterization and 16S rDNA analysis revealed that the three isolates were all closely related to Clostridium bifermentans. The spores of all three isolates were resistant to inactivation at high pressure and low temperature. However, despite the fact that the vegetative cells were halotolerant and eurythermal they did not appear to be adapted for growth or viability under the conditions prevailing in the deep-sea sediments from which they were obtained. The results suggest that the isolates had survived as spores in the deep-sea sediments and that the marine benthos could be a source of clostridia originating in other environments.
Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA.
