Larsania salina gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the family Halomonadaceae based on multilocus secuence analysis

Abstract

Two Gram-staining-negative, moderately halophilic bacteria, strains M1-18T and L1-16, were isolated from a saltern located in Huelva (Spain). They were motile, strictly aerobic rods, growing in the presence of 3-25% (w/v) NaCl (optimal growth at 7.5-10% [w/v] NaCl), between pH 4.0 and 9.0 (optimal at pH 6.0-7.0) and at temperatures between 15 and 40 ºC (optimal at 37 ºC). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison showed that both strains showed the higher similarity values with Chromohalobacter israelensis ATCC 43985T (95.2-94.8%) and Chromohalobacter salexigens DSM 3043T (95.0-94.9%), and similarity values lower than 94.6% with other species of the genera Chromohalobacter, Kushneria, Cobetia or Halomonas. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on the partial sequences of atpA, rpoD and secA housekeeping genes indicated that the new isolates formed an independent and monophyletic branch that was related to the peripheral genera of the family Halomonadaceae, Halotalea, Carnimonas and Zymobacter, supporting their placement as a new genus of the Halomonadaceae. The DNA-DNA hybridization between both strains was 82 %, whereas the values between strain M1-18T and the most closely related species of Chromohalobacter and Kushneria were equal or lower to 48 %. The