The family elusimicrobiaceae

Abstract

The family Elusimicrobiaceae contains only a single species, Elusimicrobium minutum, whose uncultured relatives are found in the intestinal tracts of insects and vertebrates. E. minutum is an obligately anaerobic ultramicrobacterium that ferments glucose and only a few other sugars in an unusual mixed-acid fermentation that involves the production of alanine. The genome sequence of E. minutum added to our understanding of its metabolic properties. There are no other isolates in the phylum Elusimicrobia (formerly Termite Group 1), which consists of several deep-branching lineages of uncultivated bacteria mostly from soils, sediments, and intestinal tracts. The only other lineage that has been characterized beyond the 16S rRNA gene level is the Endomicrobia, which are specific endosymbionts of flagellate protists in termite guts.