The emended family peptococcaceae and description of the families desulfitobacteriaceae, desulfotomaculaceae, and thermincolaceae

Abstract

The family Peptococcaceae is one of several families of the order Clostridiales, class Clostridia. Besides the type genus Peptococcus, the family encompasses the genera Cryptanaerobacter, Dehalobacter, Desulfitibacter, Desulfitispora, Desulfitobacterium, Desulfonispora, Desulfosporosinus, Desulfotomaculum, Desulfurispora, Pelotomaculum, Sporotomaculum, Syntrophobotulus, and Thermincola. The family is physiologically (chemoorganotroph, chemolithoheterotroph, chemolithoautotroph, syntrophy with hydrogenotrophs) and phylogenetically heterogeneous. Many of its members were isolated from human material, while others occur in soil, marine, and freshwater sediments or sewage. All members of the family are obligate anaerobes and Gram positive, though some members stain Gram negative. The morphology ranges from spherical to rod-shaped cells while spore formation is genus specific. This brief overview concentrates on genera and species described since 2006, and which are not covered in the chapter Peptococcaceae in Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edition.