Halostella pelagica sp. nov. and Halostella litorea sp. nov., isolated from salted brown alga Laminaria.

Three rod-shaped halophilic archaeal strains, DL-M4T, LYG-109 and DLLS-108T, were isolated from the salted brown alga Laminaria produced in different marine areas of PR China. Cells of strains were motile, formed red-pigmented colonies on agar and lysed in distilled water. The three strains grew optimally with 2.6 M NaCl, with 0.05-0.3 M MgCl2, at 37 °C and at pH 7.0-7.5. The results of phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA and rpoB' genes differentiated these strains into two clusters belonging to the genus Halostella, which currently contains Halostella salina CBA1114T and Halostella limicola LT12T. Strains DL-M4T and LYG-109 formed a single cluster separate from the current two members of Halostella (94.4-95.7 and 90.0-90.9 % similarities, respectively) while strain DLLS-108T had Hsl. salina CBA1114T as its nearest neighbour (97.7-97.8 and 95.9 % similarities, respectively) and was separated from Hsl. limicola LT12T (94.4-95.8 and 93.4 % similarities, respectively). These clusters represented two distinct novel species as indicated by phenotypic characteristics, polar lipid compositions and whole-genome comparisons. Diverse phenotypic characteristics, morphology and growth characteristics, nutrition and miscellaneous biochemical tests differentiate strains DL-M4T, LYG-109, DLLS-108T from Hsl. limicola LT12T and Hsl. salina CBA1114T. Strains DL-M4T and LYG-109 contained phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester and three unidentified glycolipids, while strain DLLS-108T contained these polar lipids and two unidentified phospholipids. The major respiratory quinones detected in the three isolates were menaquinone MK-8 and MK-8(H2). The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (isDDH) values between the isolated strains and the current two members of Halostella were found to be 79.3-86.6 (ANI) and 22.9-49.8 % (isDDH). All these results showed that the three isolates represent two novel species of the genus Halostella for which the names Halostella pelagica sp. nov. [type strain dl-M4T (=CGMCC 1.13603T=JCM 32954T)] and Halostella litorea sp. nov. [type strain DLLS-108T(=CGMCC 1.13610T=JCM 32955T)] are proposed.