Phylogenetic position of the menaquinone-containing acidophilic chemo-organotroph<i>Acidobacterium capsulatum</i>

The phylogenetic position of an acidophilic chemo-organotrophic menaquinone-containing bacterium, Acidobacterium capsulatum, was studied on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence information. A. capsulatum showed the highest level of sequence similarity to Heliobacterium chlorum, a member of the Gram-positive group, yet this level was only 81%. Distance matrix tree analysis suggested that A. capsulatum belongs to a unique lineage deeply branching from the Chlamydia-Planctomyces group or from the Gram-positive line.