Marinococcus halotolerans sp. nov., isolated from Qinghai, north-west China.

An aerobic bacterium was isolated from saline soil located in Qinghai, north-west China. The bacterium, designated YIM 70157(T), was investigated using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The Gram reaction of the organism was positive. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated the isolate to be a member of the genus Marinococcus, the closest phylogenetic neighbour of the unknown bacterium being Marinococcus halophilus DSM 20408(T) with a similarity of 99.4%. The peptidoglycan type of YIM 70157(T) was A1gamma, with meso-diaminopimelic acid as diagnostic diamino acid. The major fatty acids were ai-C(15:0), ai-C(17:0) and i-C(16:0). The menaquinones were MK-7 and MK-6. The phospholipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol. The G+C content of total DNA was 48.5 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence and DNA-DNA hybridization data, this isolate should be classified as a novel species of Marinococcus, for which the name Marinococcus halotolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM 70157(T) (=DSM 16375(T)=KCTC 19045(T)).