Reclassification of as gen. nov., comb. nov., of as comb. nov, with an emended description of the genus , recognition that the genus names and are heterotypic synonyms and description of sp. nov., a halotolerant isolate from surface soil sampled at an ancient copper smelter.

In the course of screening the surface soils of ancient copper mines and smelters (East Harz, Germany) an aerobic, non-motile and halotolerant actinobacterium forming small rods or cocci was isolated. The strain designated F300 developed creamy to yellow colonies on tryptone soy agar and grew optimally at 28 °C, pH 7-8 and with 0.5-2 % (m/v) NaCl. Its peptidoglycan was of type A4α l-Lys-l-Glu (A11.54). The menaquinone profile was dominated by MK-8(II, III-H) and contained minor amounts of MK-8(H), MK-8(H) and MK-9(H). The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, mono and diacylated phosphatidylinositol dimannosides, and components that were not fully characterized, including two phospholipids, two glycolipids and an uncharacterized lipid. Major whole-cell sugars were rhamnose and ribose. The fatty acid profile contained mainly iso and anteiso branched fatty acids (anteiso-C, iso-C) and aldehydes/dimethylacetals (i.e. not fatty acids). Sequence analysis of its genomic DNA and subsequent analysis of the data placed the isolate in the group currently defined by members of the genera and (family , order ) as a sister taxon to the previously described species , sharing an average nucleotide identity and average amino acid identity values of 85.3 and 85.7 %, respectively. Genotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses support the view that strain F300 (=DSM 108350=CIP 111667) is the type strain of a new genus and new species for which the name gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. Based on revised chemotaxonomic and additional genome based data, it is necessary to discuss and evaluate the results in the light of the classification and nomenclature of members of the family , i.e. the genera and . Consequently, the reclassification of as comb. nov. and as comb. nov., with an emended description of the genus are proposed.