Complete genome sequence of the sulfate-reducing firmicute Desulfotomaculum ruminis type strain (DLT)

Strain DLT (= DSM 2154 = ATCC 23193 = NCIMB 8452) is the type strain of the species Desulfotomaculum ruminis [1], one out of current-ly 30 species with validly published names in the paraphyletic genus Desulfotomaculum [2,3]. Strain DLT was initially isolated by G. S. Coleman in the 1950s from the rumen of hay-fed sheep [4]. Dissimilatory reduction of sulfate to sulfide in the rumen was first demonstrated by Lewis [5], who dosed fistulated sheep with sulfate and deter-mined the amount of sulfide produced. As high amounts of sulfide may be toxic to animals, bacte-rial sulfate-reduction in ruminants was a concern due to the presence of sulfate in grass and hay. D. ruminis represented the first pure culture of a sul-fate-reducing bacterium isolated from the rumen. The genus name was derived from the Latin words 'de', from, ‘sulfur’, sulfur, and 'tomaculum', a kind of sausage, meaning 'a sausage-shaped sul-fate reducer' [2,6]. The species epithet is derived from the Latin word 'rumen', throat, first stomach (rumen) of a ruminant, meaning of a rumen [1,2]. Here, we present a summary classification and a set of features for D. ruminis strain DLT, together with the description of the complete genomic se-quencing and annotation. The complete genome sequence of strain DLT will provide valuable in-formation for defining a more adequate descrip-tion of the currently paraphyletic genus Desulfotomaculum