Aureibacillus halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment

A Gram-staining-positive, strictly aerobic, spore-forming and rod-shaped motile bacterium with peritrichous flagellae, designated strain S1203T, was isolated from the sediment of the northern Okinawa Trough. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain S1203T formed a lineage within the family Bacillaceae that was distinct from the most closely related genera Bacillus, Bhargavaea, Planomicrobium and Virgibacillus with gene sequence similarities ranging from 86.2 to 93.76 %. Optimal growth occurred in the presence of 4-8 % (w/v) NaCl, at pH 7.0-8.0 and 25-32 °C. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was based on meso-diaminopimelic acid and unsaturated menaquinone with seven isoprene units (MK-7) as the predominant respiratory quinone. The major fatty acids (>10 % of total fatty acids) were anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 and C16 : 0.The major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified glycolipid and an unidentified phospholipid. The DNA G+C content of strain S1203T was 47.7 mol%. On the basis of polyphasic analysis, strainS1203T was considered to represent a novel species in a new genus of the family Bacillaceae, for which the name Aureibacillus halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain of Aureibacillus halotolerans is S1203T ( = DSM 28697T = JCM 30067T = MCCC 1K00259T).