Larsenimonas suaedae sp nov., a moderately halophilic, endophytic bacterium isolated from the euhalophyte Suaeda salsa

A moderately halophilic, Gram-stain-negative, non-endospore-forming endophytic bacterium designated strain ST307(T) was isolated from the euhalophyte Suaeda salsa in Dongying, China. Strain ST307(T) was aerobic, rod-shaped, motile and orange-yellow-pigmented. The organism grew at NaCl concentrations of 0.6-20% (w/v) (optimum 5-6 %, w/v), at temperatures of 5-45 degrees C (optimum 35 degrees C) and at pH 5-9 (optimum pH 7-8). It accumulated poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid and produced exopolysaccharides. The major fatty acids were C-18:1 omega 7c/C-18:1 omega 6c, C-16:0 and C-16:1 omega 7c/C-16:1 omega 6c. The predominant lipoquinone was ubiquinone Q-9. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, a glycoaminolipid and a phosphoglycoaminolipid. The DNA G+C content was 60.5 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences and concatenated atpA, rpoD and secA gene sequences revealed that the strain represents a member of the genus Larsenimonas. The closest related type strain was Larsenimonas salina M1-18(T). Mean DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain ST307(T) and the related species L. salina M1-18(T), Chromohalobacter beijerinckii DSM 7218(T), C. canadensis DSM 6769(T), C. israelensis DSM 6768(T), C. marismortui CGMCC 1.2321(T) , C. nigrandesensis DSM 14323(T), C. salexigens DSM 3043(T) and C. sarecensis DSM 15547(T) were 15 +/- 2-45 +/- 1 %. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular features, strain ST307(T) clearly represents a novel species of the genus Larsenimonas. The name Larsenimonas suaedae sp. nov. is proposed, with ST307(T) (= CGMCC 1.8902(T) = DSM 22428(T)) as the type strain.