Stenoxybacter acetivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., an Acetate-Oxidizing Obligate Microaerophile among Diverse O₂-Consuming Bacteria from Termite Guts

In termite hindguts, fermentative production of acetate--a major carbon and energy source for the insect--depends on efficient removal of inwardly diffusing oxygen by microbes residing on and near the hindgut wall. However, little is known about the identity of these organisms or about the substrate(s) used to support their respiratory activity. A cultivation-based approach was used to isolate O₂-consuming organisms from hindguts of Reticulitermes flavipes. A consistently greater (albeit not statistically significant) number of colonies developed under hypoxia (2% [vol/vol] O₂) than under air, and the increase coincided with the appearance of morphologically distinct colonies of a novel, rod-shaped, obligately microaerophilic β-proteobacterium that was