title: A taxonomic study to establish the relationship between exopolysaccharide-producing bacterial strains living in diverse hypersaline habitats.
abstract: This study was undertaken to identify exopolysaccharide-producing bacteria gathered from 18 hypersaline habitats. Phenotypic studies performed with 134 isolates revealed the majority of them to be Gram-negative rods with respiratory metabolism, belonging to the genus Halomonas. A numerical analysis of the 114 phenotypic data showed that at an 80% similarity level most of the strains (121) could be grouped into six phenotypic groups. Phenon A included 25 new isolates and the reference strain of Halomonas eurihalina, and phenon B was formed by 77 new isolates and Halomonas maura. Phenon C was also related to H. maura although to a lesser extent than strains in group B. Three phena (D, E, and F) could not be grouped with any of the reference strains and may represent new taxa; their G + C contents and DNA-DNA hybridization data corroborated this hypothesis. Results of this work proved that the most abundant halophilic species EPS producer in hypersaline habitats was H. maura, followed by H. eurihalina.
authors.affiliation: Exopolysaccharide Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Martínez-Cánovas
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quesada
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martínez-Checa
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Béjar
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D020632:Halomonas / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012965:Sodium Chloride
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012965:Sodium Chloride