Haloarchaeobius baliensis sp. nov., isolated from a solar saltern

A novel halophilic archaeon, designated strain 2b_61_3T, was isolated from a solar saltern in Indonesia. Cells of the strain were Gram-stain-negative, motile, pleomorphic rods that formed orange-red-pigmented colonies on solid medium. The isolate grew optimally at 42-44 °C, pH 6.5-7.0, and with 2.6 M NaCl, and MgCl2 was required for growth. Strain 2b_61_3T had two differential 16S rRNA genes (rrnA and rrnB), and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the strain belonged to the genus Haloarchaeobius. The rrnA and rrnB sequence similarities between strain 2b_61_3T and species of the genus Haloarchaeobius were 98.4-99.2 % and 98.5-98.8 %, respectively. The findings from the 16S rRNA gene analysis were supported by sequence analysis of rpoB', the B' subunit of RNA polymerase. On the basis of the phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic analyses, as well as DNA-DNA hybridization experiments with Haloarchaeobius iranensis NBRC 110930T, strain 2b_61_3T represents a novel species of the genus Haloarchaeobius, for which the name Haloarchaeobius baliensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 2b_61_3T ( = NBRC 110517T = InaCC Ar2T).