Meiothermus timidus sp. nov., a new slightly thermophilic yellow-pigmented species

Several yellow-pigmented isolates, with optimum growth temperatures between 55 and 60 °C, were recovered from hot springs in Central Portugal and the Azores. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA showed that these organisms represented a new species of the genus Meiothermus. The new isolates could be distinguished from other strains of the species of the genus Meiothermus by biochemical characteristics and the fatty acid composition because they had very high levels of iso C15:0 and iso C17:0 and very low levels of anteiso C17:0 and iso C16:0. On the basis of the results presented here we propose the name Meiothermus timidus for the new species represented by strains SPS-243T (=LMG 22897T = CIP 108604T), RQ-10 and RQ-12.