Bacillus salinus sp. nov., isolated from commercial solar salt

Two strains of Gram-stain-positive, strictly aerobic, motile, spore-forming, rod-shaped, moderately halotolerant bacteria, designated as HMF5848(T) and HME7618, were isolated from salt/brine and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic investigation. Growth of both yellow-coloured strains occurred in the presence of 1-9% NaCl (w/v; optimum, 2-3%), at 15-45 degrees C (optimum, 37 degrees C) and pH 6-9 (optimum, pH 7). The major fatty acids were isoC(15:0), iso-C-16:0 and anteiso-C-15:0. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was mesodiaminopimelic acid. The only respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol. phosphatidylglycerol, four unidentified glycolipids. three unidentified phospholipids and two unidentified polar lipids. DNA G+C content was 37.4 mol%. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains HMF5848(T) and HME7618 clustered with Bacillus luteolus YIM 93174(T). Strains HMF5848(T) showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to Bacillus humi LMG 2216(T) (96.1 %), Bacillus isabeliae CVS-8(T) (96.0%) and Bacillus luteolus YIM 93174(T) (96.0%). The values of in silico DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity between strains HMF5848(T) and B. humi DSM 16318(T) were 25.8 and 69.7%, respectively. On the basis of phylogenetic, physiological and chemotaxonomic properties, strain HMF5848(T) represents a novel species, Bacillus salinus sp. nov. The type strain is HMF5848(T) (=KCTC 43010(T)=CECT 9695(T)).