Salinicoccus halodurans sp. nov., a moderate halophile from saline soil in China

A moderately halophilic, Gram-positive coccus, designated strain W24(T), was isolated from saline soil in Qinghai province, China. The isolate was able to grow at salinities of 0-24 % (w/v) NaCl (optimally at 8 %, w/v), at pH 5.5-9.0 (optimally at pH 7.5) and at 8-43 degrees C (optimally at 28 degrees C). The genomic DNA G+C content of strain W24(T) was 45.8 mol%. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-6 and the cell wall contained lysine and glycine as diagnostic diamino acids. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified glycolipid. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(15 : 0) and C(16 : 0). Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain W24(T) was found to be a member of the genus Salinicoccus and was related most closely to Salinicoccus hispanicus DSM 5352(T) (96.5 % sequence similarity). Based on data from the current polyphasic study, strain W24(T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Salinicoccus, for which the name Salinicoccus halodurans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is W24(T) (=CGMCC 1.6501(T)=DSM 19336(T)).