Halomonas marisflavae sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium isolated from the Yellow Sea in Korea

A halophilic Gram-negative bacterial strain, SW32T, which was isolated from a sample from the Yellow Sea of Korea, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. This organism grew optimally in the presence of 0.5-12% NaCl. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain SW32T appeared to be a member of the genus Halomonas. Strain SW32T formed a distinct evolutionary lineage within the phylogenetic clade comprising Halomonas species and the genera Zymobacter and Carnimonas. The 16S rDNA sequence of strain SW32T contains 19 signature characteristics of the genus Halomonas and the family Halomonadaceae. Strain SW32T possessed a single polar flagellum, ubiquinone-9 as the predominant respiratory lipoquinone and C18:1, C16:0 and C16:1 omega7c and/or iso-C15:0 20H as the major fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 59 mol%. Levels of 16S rDNA similarity between strain SW32T and the type strains of all validly described Halomonas species were 92.0-93.8%. Strain SW32T exhibited 16S rDNA similarity values of 92.7% to Zymobacter palmae IAM 14233T and 91.6% to Carnimonas nigrificans CECT 4437T. These data indicate that strain SW32T was related enough to members of the genus Halomonas to be placed as a new species within that genus. Therefore the name Halomonas marisflavae sp. nov. is proposed for strain SW32T. The type strain of the new species is strain SW32T (= KCCM 80003T = JCM 10873T).