title: Halovarius luteus gen. nov., sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon from a salt lake.
abstract: An extremely halophilic archaeon, strain DA50T, was isolated from a brine sample of Urmia lake, a hypersaline environment in north-west Iran. Strain DA50T was orange-pigmented, motile, pleomorphic and required at least 2.5 M NaCl but not MgCl2 for growth. Optimal growth was achieved at 4.0 M NaCl and 0.3 M MgCl2. The optimum pH and temperature for growth were pH 7.0 and 45 °C, while it was able to grow over a pH range of 6.5-8.0 and a temperature range of 25-50 °C. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain DA50T is a member of the family Halobacteriaceae, showing a low level of similarity with other members of this family. Highest similarities, 94.4, 94.0 and 93.9 %, were obtained with the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the type strains of Natrialba aegyptia, Halobiforma lacisalsi and Halovivax asiaticus, respectively. Polar lipid analyses revealed that strain DA50T contains phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester. Four unidentified glycolipids and two minor phospholipids were also observed. The only quinone present was MK-8(II-H2). The G+C content of its DNA was 62.3 mol%. On the basis of the data obtained, the new isolate could not be classified in any recognized genus. Strain DA50T is thus considered to represent a novel species of a new genus within the family Halobacteriaceae, order Halobacteriales, for which the name Halovarius luteus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Halovarius luteus is DA50T ( = IBRC-M 10912T = CECT 8510T).
authors.affiliation: Extremophiles Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maliheh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mehrshad
authors.affiliation: Microorganisms Bank, Iranian Biological Resource Centre (IBRC), ACECR, Tehran, Iran.|Extremophiles Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Amoozegar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makhdoumi
authors.affiliation: Microorganisms Bank, Iranian Biological Resource Centre (IBRC), ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrnoosh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasooli
authors.affiliation: Extremophiles Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Basaer
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Asadi
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute DSMZ (German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstraße 7B, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ventosa
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000235:genetics; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000737:chemistry; D006216:Halobacteriaceae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007492:Iran; D060106:Lakes / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D010858:Pigmentation; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D000068357:Saline Waters; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D024482:Vitamin K 2 / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D006017:Glycolipids; D010743:Phospholipids; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D024482:Vitamin K 2; C024223:vitamin MK 8