nov., a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium isolated from a terrestrial thermal spring.In hydrothermal ecosystems, the dissolution of sulfur dioxide in water results in the formation of sulfite, which can be used in microbial metabolism.  A limited number of thermophiles have been isolated using sulfite as an electron acceptor.  From a terrestrial thermal spring, Sakhalin Island, Russia, we isolated a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium (strain SLA38T). 
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