Saliterribacillus persicus gen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from a hypersaline lake.

A novel Gram-positive, moderately halophilic bacterium, designated strain X4B(T), was isolated from soil around the hypersaline lake Aran-Bidgol in Iran and characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. Cells of strain X4B(T) were motile rods and formed ellipsoidal endospores at a terminal or subterminal position in swollen sporangia. Strain X4B(T) was a strictly aerobic bacterium, catalase- and oxidase-positive. The strain was able to grow at NaCl concentrations of 0.5-22.5 % (w/v), with optimum growth occurring at 7.5 % (w/v) NaCl. The optimum temperature and pH for growth were 35 °C and pH 7.0. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain X4B(T) is a member of the family Bacillaceae, constituting a novel phyletic lineage within this family. Highest sequence similarities were obtained with the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the type strains of Sediminibacillus albus (96.0 %), Paraliobacillus ryukyuensis (95.9 %), Paraliobacillus quinghaiensis (95.8 %) and Sediminibacillus halophilus (95.7 %), respectively. The DNA G+C content of this novel isolate was 35.2 mol%. The major cellular fatty acids of strain X4B(T) were anteiso-C(15 : 0) and anteiso-C(17 : 0) and its polar lipid pattern consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, two aminolipids, an aminophospholipid and an unknown phospholipid. The isoprenoid quinones were MK-7 (89 %) and MK-6 (11 %). The peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis in combination with chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, strain X4B(T) represents a novel species in a new genus in the family Bacillaceae, order Bacillales for which the name Saliterribacillus persicus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species (Saliterribacillus persicus) is X4B(T) ( = IBRC-M 10629(T) = KCTC 13827(T)).