title: Halococcus thailandensis sp. nov., from fish sauce in Thailand.
abstract: Fifteen strains of red-pigmented, strictly aerobic, coccoid, extremely halophilic archaea were isolated from fish sauce (nam-pla) produced in Thailand. They grew optimally at 37 degrees C, pH 6-8 and in the presence of 20-30 % (w/v) NaCl. The DNA G+C contents of the isolates were 60.0-61.8 mol%. They had MK-8(H2) as a major menaquinone component and C(20)C(20) and C(20)C(25) derivatives of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol methylphosphate and a sulfated glycolipid, S-DGA-1, as major polar lipid components. 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that a representative strain, HDB5-2(T), was affiliated with Halococcus dombrowskii JCM 12289(T), Halococcus qingdaonensis JCM 13587(T) and Halococcus morrhuae JCM 8876(T) (levels of similarity of 98.2-98.7 %). Based on data from DNA-DNA hybridization experiments, the 15 strains represented a single species, showing hybridization values of >78.9 % to representative strain HDB5-2(T), but were unrelated to either Halococcus dombrowskii JCM 12289(T) or Halococcus morrhuae JCM 8876(T), with levels of relatedness of <50 %. Moreover, a comparison of phenotypic properties discriminated these new isolates from recognized species of the genus Halococcus. The 15 strains are thus considered to represent a novel species of the genus Halococcus, for which the name Halococcus thailandensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HDB5-2(T) (=BCC 20213(T) =JCM 13552(T) =PCU 278(T)).
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
authors.forename: Sirilak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Namwong
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
authors.forename: Somboon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanasupawat
authors.affiliation: National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand.
authors.forename: Wonnop
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Visessanguan
authors.affiliation: Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.affiliation: Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itoh
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D001482:Base Composition; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005396:Fish Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000032:analysis; D019625:Halococcus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D019642:RNA, Archaeal / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature; D013785:Thailand; D024482:Vitamin K 2 / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D006017:Glycolipids; D010743:Phospholipids; D019642:RNA, Archaeal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D024482:Vitamin K 2; D012965:Sodium Chloride