Halomonas flagellata sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium isolated from saline soil in Xinjiang

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, motile, slightly curved rod-shaped bacterium with multiple flagella, designated strain EGI 63088^T, was isolated from a bulk soil of Kalidium foliatum, collected from Wujiaqu in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, PR China. The optimal growth temperature, salinity, and pH for strain EGI 63088^T growth were 30 °C, 3% (w/v) NaCl and 8, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain EGI 63088^T showed the highest sequence similarities to Halomonas heilongjiangensis 9-2^T (97.94%), H. lysinitropha 3(2)^T (97.51%), and H. daqiaonensis CGMCC 1.9150^T (97.08%). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between the strain EGI 63088^T and H. heilongjiangensis 9-2^T were 89.03 and 41.10%, respectively. The DNA G + C content of the genome for strain EGI 63088^T was 66.3 mol%. The most prevalent antibiotic resistance and virulence-related genes in Halomonas genomes were Streptomyces cinnamoneu EF-Tu mutant, pilT, and cheY, respectively. The predominant fatty acids of strain EGI 63088^T were summed feature 8 (C_{18: 1} ω6c and/or C_{18: 1} ω7c), summed feature 3 (C_{16: 1} ω6c and/or C_{16: 1} ω7c), and C_{16: 0}; its major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-9 (Q-9), and the major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylethanolamine. According to the above results, strain EGI 63088^T is considered a novel species of the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas flagellata sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is EGI 63088^T (= KCTC 92047^T = CGMCC 1.19133^T).