Six novel species of the genus Methanoculleus isolated from various environments in Taiwan

Taiwan is situated in the subtropical region and its geographical location and topographical features contribute to a rich ecological diversity and scenic landscapes. We investigated the diversity of methanogens in different environments of Taiwan using a culture-dependent method. This report presents the characterization and taxonomy of six hydrogenotrophic methanogens obtained from cold seep sediments (strain FWC-SCC1 T and FWC-SCC3 T ), marine sediments (strain CWC-02 T and YWC-01 T ), estuarine sediments (strain Afa-1 T ), and a hot spring well (strain Wushi-C6 T ) in Taiwan. The proposed names of the six novel species are Methanoculleus frigidifontis (type strain FWC-SCC1 T =BCRC AR10056 T =NBRC 113993 T ), Methanoculleus oceani (CWC-02 T =BCRC AR10055 T =NBRC 113992 T ), Methanoculleus methanifontis (FWC-SCC3 T =BCRC AR10057 T =NBRC 113994 T ), Methanoculleus nereidis (YWC-01 T =BCRC AR10060 T =NBRC 114597 T ), Methanoculleus formosensis (Afa-1 T =BCRC AR10054 T =NBRC 113995 T ), and Methanoculleus caldifontis (Wushi-06 T =BCRC AR10059 T = NBRC 114596 T ).