Bacillus litoralis sp. nov., isolated from a tidal flat of the Yellow Sea in Korea.

A Gram-variable, motile, endospore-forming, slightly halophilic bacterial strain, designated SW-211(T), was isolated from a tidal flat of the Yellow Sea in Korea, and was characterized taxonomically by using a polyphasic approach. The organism grew optimally at 37 degrees C and in the presence of 2-3% NaCl. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain SW-211(T) forms a distinct phylogenetic lineage within the radiation of the cluster comprising Bacillus species. Strain SW-211(T) had cell-wall peptidoglycan based on meso-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7 and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C(15:0) (34.8%), iso-C(15:0) (15.6%), iso-C(16:0) (12.5%) and iso-C(14:0) (10.0%). The DNA G+C content was 35.2 mol%. Strain SW-211(T) exhibited levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of <96.2% with respect to the type strains of recognized Bacillus species. On the basis of its phenotypic properties and phylogenetic distinctiveness, strain SW-211(T) (=KCTC 3898(T)=DSM 16303(T)) was classified in the genus Bacillus as the type strain of a novel species, for which the name Bacillus litoralis sp. nov. is proposed.