Six novel species of the genus Methanoculleus isolated from various environments in Taiwan

Taiwan is situated in the subtropical region and its geographical location and topographical features contribute to a rich ecological diversity and scenic landscapes. We investigated the diversity of methanogens in different environments of Taiwan using a culture- dependent method. This report presents the characterization and taxonomy of six hydrogenotrophic methanogens obtained from cold seep sediments (strain FWC- SCC1T T and FWC- SCC3T), T ), marine sediments (strain CWC- 02T T and YWC-01T), T ), estuarine sediments (strain Afa- 1T), T ), and a hot spring well (strain Wushi- C6T) T ) in Taiwan. The proposed names of the six novel species are Methanoculleus frigidifontis (type strain FWC- SCC1T=BCRC T =BCRC AR10056T=NBRC T =NBRC 113993T), T ), Methanoculleus oceani (CWC02T=BCRC T =BCRC AR10055T=NBRC T =NBRC 113992T), T ), Methanoculleus methanifontis (FWC-SCC3T=BCRC T =BCRC AR10057T=NBRC T =NBRC 113994T), T ), Methanoculleus nereidis (YWC-01T=BCRC T =BCRC AR10060T=NBRC T =NBRC 114597T), T ), Methanoculleus formosensis (Afa-1T=BCRC T =BCRC AR10054T=NBRC T =NBRC 113995T), T ), and Methanoculleus caldifontis (Wushi-06T=BCRC T =BCRC AR10059T= T = NBRC 114596T). T ).