Comparison of a New Thiomicrospira Strain from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with Known Hydrothermal Vent Isolates

A new autotrophic Thiomicrospira strain, MA-3, was isolated from the surface of a polymetal sulfide deposit collected at a Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vent site. The DNA homology among three vent isolates, Thiomicrospira crunogena, Thiomicrospira sp. strain L-12, and Thiomicrospira sp. strain MA-3, was 99.3% or higher, grouping them as the same species, T. crunogena (type strain, ATCC 35932). The fact that T. crunogena and Thiomicrospira sp. strain L-12 were isolated from Pacific vent sites demonstrates a cosmopolitan distribution of this species.