Pontibacillus marinus sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium from a solar saltern, and emended description of the genus Pontibacillus.

A moderately halophilic, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium (BH030004(T)) was isolated from a solar saltern in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain BH030004(T) belonged to the genus Pontibacillus. Chemotaxonomic data (DNA G + C content, 42 mol%; major isoprenoid quinone, MK-7; cell-wall type, A1gamma-type meso-diaminopimelic acid; major fatty acids, iso-C(15 : 0) and anteiso-C(15 : 0)) also supported the affiliation of the isolate to the genus Pontibacillus. Although the 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain BH030004(T) and Pontibacillus chungwhensis DSM 16287(T) was relatively high (99.1 %), physiological properties and DNA-DNA hybridization (about 7 % DNA-DNA relatedness) allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain BH030004(T) from the type strain of P. chungwhensis. Therefore, strain BH030004(T) represents a novel species of the genus Pontibacillus, for which the name Pontibacillus marinus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BH030004(T) (=KCTC 3917(T) = DSM 16465(T)).