Salinimicrobium marinum sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae, and emended descriptions of the genus Salinimicrobium and Salinimicrobium catena.

Two novel heterotrophic, facultatively anaerobic, gliding and yellow-pigmented bacteria, designated strains KMM 6270(T) and KMM 6320, were isolated from different marine environments and studied using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed the strains within the family Flavobacteriaceae. Strains KMM 6270(T) and KMM 6320 were most closely related to the type strains of recognized species of the genus Salinimicrobium (95.0-96.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 40-41 mol%. The strains grew with 0.5-15 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 4 % NaCl) and at 4-41 °C (optimum 28-32 °C). Aesculin and gelatin were hydrolysed, but agar, casein, DNA and chitin were not. The phylogenetic data taken together with the results of the genotypic and phenotypic studies permit the classification of strains KMM 6270(T) and KMM 6320 as members of a novel species of the genus Salinimicrobium, for which the name Salinimicrobium marinum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KMM 6270(T) (=KCTC 12719(T)=LMG 25395(T)).