Allobacillus halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. isolated from shrimp paste

A novel bacterial strain designated B3A(T), isolated from shrimp paste, was investigated by a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells stained Gram-positive and were aerobic, non-pigmented, sporulating and rod-shaped with a polar flagellum. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain B3A(T) belonged to the class Bacilli and was a member of the family Bacillaceae. Strain B3A(T) shared low levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (<94.0 %) with members of other genera in the family Bacillaceae and was most closely related to Halalkalibacillus halophilus BH2(T) (93.8 % sequence similarity). The isolate was able to grow at 20-45 °C, with 0.5-15 % NaCl and at pH 6-9. Menaquinone with seven isoprene units (MK-7) was the major respiratory quinone and 16 : 0 iso, 15 : 0 anteiso and 14 : 0 iso were the major fatty acids. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol. The characteristic diamino acid of the peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. The DNA G+C content was 45.3 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis in combination with chemotaxonomic and physiological data, strain B3A(T) represents a novel genus and species in the family Bacillaceae for which the name Allobacillus halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Allobacillus halotolerans is B3A(T) ( = BCRC 17939(T)  = LMG 24826(T)).