Halomonas marisflavae sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium isolated from the Yellow Sea in Korea

A halophilic Gram-negative bacterial strain, SW32^T, which was isolated from a sample from the Yellow Sea of Korea, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. This organism grew optimally in the presence of 0.5-12% NaCl. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain SW32^T appeared to be a member of the genus Halomonas. Strain SW32^T formed a distinct evolutionary lineage within the phylogenetic clade comprising Halomonas species and the genera Zymobacter and Carnimonas. The 16S rDNA sequence of strain SW32^T contains 19 signature characteristics of the genus Halomonas and the family Halomonadaceae. Strain SW32^T possessed a single polar flagellum, ubiquinone-9 as the predominant respiratory lipoquinone and C_18:1, C_16:0 and C_16:1 ω 7c and/or iso-C_15:0 2OH as the major fatty acids. The DNA G+C content was 59 mol%. Levels of 16S rDNA similarity between strain SW32^T and the type strains of all validity described Halomonas species were 92.0-93.8%. Strain SW32^T exhibited 16S rDNA similarity values of 92.7% to Zymobacter palmae IAM 14233^T and 91.6% to Carnimonas nigrificans CECT 4437^T. These data indicate that strain SW32^T was related enough to members of the genus Halomonas to be placed as a new species within that genus. Therefore the name Halomonas marisflavae sp. nov. is proposed for strain SW32^T. The type strain of the new species is strain SW32^T ( = KCCM 80003^T = JCM 10873^T).