title: Halococcus agarilyticus sp. nov., an agar-degrading haloarchaeon isolated from commercial salt.
abstract: Two agar-degrading halophilic archaeal strains, 62 E(T) and 197 A, were isolated from commercial salt samples. Cells were non-motile cocci, approximately 1.2-2.0 µm in diameter and stained Gram-negative. Colonies were pink-pigmented. Strain 62 E(T) was able to grow with 24-30% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 27%), at pH 6.5-8.5 (optimum, pH 7.5) and at 22-47 °C (optimum, 42 °C). The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains 62 E(T) and 197 A were identical, and the level of DNA-DNA relatedness between them was 90 and 90% (reciprocally). The closest relative was Halococcus saccharolyticus JCM 8878(T) with 99.7% similarity in 16S rRNA orthologous gene sequences, followed by Halococcus salifodinae JCM 9578(T) (99.6%), while similarities with other species of the genus Halococcus were equal to or lower than 95.1%. The rpoB' gene tree strongly supported that the two strains were members of the genus Halococcus . Mean DNA-DNA relatedness between strain 62 E(T) and H. saccharolyticus JCM 8878(T) and H. salifodinae JCM 9578(T) was 46 and 44%, respectively. The major polar lipids were archaeol derivatives of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, derived from both C20C20 and C20C25 archaeol, and sulfated diglycosyl archaeol-1. Several unidentified glycolipids were present. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses, the isolates are considered to represent a novel species of the genus Halococcus , for which the name Halococcus agarilyticus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 62 E(T) ( = JCM 19592(T) =KCTC 4143(T)).
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15, Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan.|Research Institute of Industrial Technology, Toyo University, 2100 Kujirai, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama 350-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Minegishi
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Industrial Technology, Toyo University, 2100 Kujirai, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama 350-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Akinobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Echigo
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15, Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa 237-0061, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimane
authors.affiliation: Halophiles Research Institute, 677-1 Shimizu, Noda-shi, Chiba 278-0043, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamekura
authors.affiliation: RIKEN BioResource Center, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.affiliation: RIKEN BioResource Center, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan.
authors.forename: Moriya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohkuma
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Industrial Technology, Toyo University, 2100 Kujirai, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama 350-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Usami
mesh_terms: D000362:Agar; D001482:Base Composition; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000235:genetics; D019766:Genes, Archaeal; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000737:chemistry; D019625:Halococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D010858:Pigmentation; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012965:Sodium Chloride
chemical_list: D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D006017:Glycolipids; D010715:Phosphatidylglycerols; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D000362:Agar