Salsuginibacillus kocurii gen. nov., sp nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium from soda-lake sediment

A Gram-positive, enclospore-forming, alkali-tolerant, moderately halophilic bacterium, designated strain CH9d(T), was isolated from the sediment of Lake Chagannor in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The cells were rod-shaped and motile. Isolate CH9d(T) grew at pH 5.8-10.0 (optimally at PH 8.5), at salinities of 3-20% (w/v) marine salts (optimally at 10.0%, w/v) and between 20 and 50 degrees C (optimally at 37 degrees C). The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and the major respiratory isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The predominant cellular fatty acids of strain CH9d(T) were anteiso-C-15:0, anteiso-C-17:0, iso-C-17:0 and iso-C-15:0 and its polar lipids consisted of diphosphaticlylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and two unknown phospholipids. The G + C content of the DNA was 44.7 mol%. Strain CH9d(T) exhibited a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity value of only 91% with respect to Thalassobacillus devorans DSM 16966(T) and showed values below 91% with respect to members of the genera Bacillus, Halobacillus and Marinococcus. Strain CH9d(T) could be clearly differentiated from its closest phylogenetic; neighbours on the basis of several phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic features. Therefore, data from the polyphasic study support the placement of strain CH9d(T) in a novel genus and species, for which the name Salsuginibacillus kocurii gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CH9d(T) (=CCM 7365(T)= CIECT 7154(T) = CGMCC 1.6287(T) = DSM 18087(T)).