Halogeometricum borinquense gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel halophilic archaeon from Puerto Rico

A novel extremely halophilic archaeon was isolated from the solar salterns of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The organism is very pleomorphic, motile and requires at least 8% (w/v) NaCl to grow. Polar lipid composition revealed the presence of a novel non-sulfate-containing glycolipid and the absence of the glycerol diether analogue of phosphatidylglycerosulfate. The G+C content of the DNA is 59 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA sequence data, the new isolate cannot be classified in one of the recognized genera, but occupies a position that is distantly related to the genus Haloferax, All these features justify the creation of a new genus and a new species for the family Halobacteriaceae, order Halobacteriales, The name Halogeometricum borinquense gen, nov., sp, nov, is proposed. The type strain is ATCC 700274(T).