Marinococcus salis sp., nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from a salt marsh.

A novel Gram-stain-positive, coccoid-shaped, facultative anaerobic, motile and halophilic bacterium strain 5M was isolated from Surajbari in India. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, it was identified as belonging to the genus Marinococcus and was most closely related to Marinococcus luteus KCTC 13214 (99.3 %, sequence similarity), Marinococcus halotolerans KCTC 19045 (99.0 %), Marinococcus halophilus LMG 17439 (98.8 %) and Marinococcus tarijensis LMG 26930 (98.7 %). However, the DNA-DNA relatedness of strain 5M with M. luteus KCTC 13214, M. halotolerans KCTC 19045, M. halophilus LMG 17439 and M. tarijensis LMG 26930 was 42.6 ± 0.8, 48.6 ± 0.8, 40.9 ± 0.8 and 39.8 ± 0.9 %, respectively. Strain 5M grows optimally at 5 % (w/v) NaCl, pH 7.5-8.5 and 37 °C. The cell-wall peptidoglycan of strain 5M contains meso-diaminopimelic acid. Polar lipids of the strain 5M include diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, a phospholipid and two unknown lipids. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. DNA G+C content was 48.9 mol%, and anteiso-C (40.9 %) was the predominant fatty acid. The results of phylogenetic, biochemical tests and chemotaxonomic allowed a clear differentiation of strain 5M from all of its nearest phylogenetic neighbours, which represents a novel member of the genus Marinococcus, for which the name Marinococcus salis sp., nov., is proposed. The type strain is 5M (=KCTC 33743 = LMG 29101 = CGMCC 1.15385).