Isolation of a nitrogen-fixing Campylobacter species from the roots of Spartina alterniflora Loisel

A microaerophilic nitrogen-fixing bacterium was isolated from surface-sterilized roots of Spartina alterniflora Loisel growing in a Nova Scotian salt marsh. It is a small curved rod and is motile with a single polar flagellum. Metabolism is respiratory. Organic and amino acids, but not carbohydrates, serve as carbon and energy sources. The guanine + cytosine content of its deoxyribonucleic acid is 32.1 +/- 1.0 mol%. Based upon morphological and biochemical characteristics this organism is assigned to the genus Camphlobacter Sebald and Veron 1963. It is distinguishable from other campylobacters by the presence of nitrogenase and urease, by the production of pigment from tryptophan, and by a combination of other biochemical traits. The association of this organism with plant roots further distinguishes it from other campylobacters which commonly inhabit animal, including human, tissues.