Fodinicurvata halophila sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium from a marine saltern.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic, moderately halophilic bacterium, designated strain BA45AL(T), was isolated from water of a saltern located in Santa Pola, Alicante, Spain. Cells were motile, and catalase- and oxidase-positive. Strain BA45AL(T) grew at temperatures in the range 14-45 °C (optimally at 37 °C), at pH 5.0-9.0 (optimally at pH 7.5), and in media containing 5-20 % (w/v) salts [optimally in media containing 10 % (w/v) salts]. Phylogenetic analysis based on the comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain BA45AL(T) is a member of the genus Fodinicurvata. The closest relatives to the novel strain were Fodinicurvata fenggangensis YIM D812(T) and Fodinicurvata sediminis YIM D82(T) with sequence similarities of 98.2 % and 97.4 %, respectively. DNA-DNA hybridization between the novel isolate and these phylogenetically related species revealed relatedness values of 30 % and 15 %, respectively, with respect to the aforementioned species. The major cellular fatty acids of strain BA45AL(T) were C18 : 1ω7c, C16 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain BA45AL(T) was 58.0 mol%, and the polar lipid pattern consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine and a number of unknown phospholipids and lipids. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data presented in this study, strain BA45AL(T) constituted a novel species of the genus Fodinicurvata, for which the name Fodinicurvata halophila sp. nov. is suggested. The type strain is BA45AL(T) ( = CCM 8504(T) = CECT 8472(T) = JCM 19075(T) = LMG 27945(T)).