title: Salinibacter ruber gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel, extremely halophilic member of the Bacteria from saltern crystallizer ponds.
abstract: Five brightly red-pigmented, motile, rod-shaped, extremely halophilic bacteria were isolated from saltern crystallizer ponds in Alicante (two strains) and Mallorca (three strains), Spain. They grew optimally at salt concentrations between 20 and 30% and did not grow below 15% salts. Thus, these isolates are among the most halophilic organisms known within the domain Bacteria. The temperature optimum was 37-47 degrees C. A single, yet to be identified pigment was present, with an absorption maximum at 482 nm and a shoulder at 506-510 nm. The G+C content of the DNA was 66.3-67.7 mol% and, together, they formed a homogeneous genomic group with DNA-DNA similarities above 70%. The 16S rRNA gene sequences were almost identical to sequences recovered earlier from the saltern biomass by amplification of bacterial small-subunit rRNA genes from DNA extracted from the environment. This phylotype, earlier described as 'Candidatus Salinibacter', was shown by fluorescence in situ hybridization to contribute between 5 and 25% of the prokaryote community of the saltern crystallizers. We have therefore succeeded in isolating a bacterium from the natural environment that, although being a major component of the community, was previously known by its phylotype only. Isolation of the organism now allows formal description of a novel genus and species, for which we propose the name Salinibacter ruber gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is strain M31T (= DSM 13855T = CECT 5946T).
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Genética y Microbiología, Universidad de Alicante, Spain. anton@ua.es
authors.forename: Josefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Antón
authors.forename: Aharon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oren
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benlloch
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Valera
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amann
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosselló-Mora
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D005618:Fresh Water; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013030:Spain; D013045:Species Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012965:Sodium Chloride