Halegenticoccus tardaugens sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon isolated from a saline soil

Two extremely halophilic archaea, isolates SYSU A00711(T) and SYSU A00630, were isolated from a sediment soil sample collected from the Aiding lake, China. Cells of these isolates were cocci, non-motile and stained Gram-negative. They grew optimally at 37 degrees C, with 20-22% NaCl (w/v) and at pH 7.5-8.0. Cells lysed in distilled water. Major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, mannosyl glucosyl diether, sulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether, and two unidentified glycolipids. Pairwise sequence comparison revealed that isolates SYSU A00711(T) and SYSU A00630 were closely related to Halegenticoccus soli SYSU A9-0(T) (94.1 and 94.0% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities; 94.0 and 94.2% rpoB' gene similarities, respectively). The overall genomic relatedness indices values between the two isolates and Halegenticocus soli SYSU A9-0( T) were: AAI, both 79.6%; ANI, 84.6 and 84.5%; dDDH, 32.5 and 26.3%, respectively. Phylogenetic trees based on the 16S rRNA gene, rpoB' gene, and genome sequences demonstrated a robust clade of these two isolates with Halegenticoccus soli SYSU A9-0(T). The DNA G + C contents of these two isolates are both 64.7% (genome method). Based on the differences in phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic properties, isolates SYSU A00711(T) and SYSU A00630 are characterized to represent a novel species in the genus Halegenticoccus, for which the name Halegenticoccus tardaugens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the species Halegenticoccus tardaugens is SYSU A00711(T) (= KCTC 4245(T) = CGMCC 1.15768(T)).

Automated summary

Two extremely halophilic archaea isolates, SYSU A00711(T) and SYSU A00630, were obtained from sediment soil sample collected from Aiding lake in China. They are closely related to Halegenticoccus soli based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic properties. The isolates are proposed to represent a novel species in the genus Halegenticoccus, named as Halegenticoccus tardaugens sp. nov.