Salinarchaeum laminariae gen. nov., sp. nov.: a new member of the family Halobacteriaceae isolated from salted brown alga Laminaria

Halophilic archaeal strains R26T and R22 were isolated from the brown alga Laminaria produced at Dalian, Liaoning Province, China. Cells from the two strains were pleomorphic rods and Gram negative, and colonies were red pigmented. Strains R26T and R22 were able to grow at 20–50°C (optimum 37°C) in 1.4–5.1 M NaCl (optimum 3.1–4.3 M) at pH 5.5–9.5 (optimum pH 8.0–8.5) and neither strain required Mg2+ for growth. Cells lyse in distilled water and the minimum NaCl concentration required to prevent cell lysis was 8% (w/v) for strain R26T and 12% (w/v) for strain R22. The major polar lipids of the two strains were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester and minor phosphatidylglycerol sulfate; glycolipids were not detected. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA genes and rpoB′ genes revealed that strains R26T and R22 formed a distinct clade with the closest relative, Natronoarchaeum mannanilyticum. The DNA G+C content of strains R26T and R22 was 65.8 and 66.4 mol%, respectively. The DNA–DNA hybridization value between strains R26T and R22 was 89%. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties suggest that the strains R26T and R22 represent a novel species in a new genus within the family Halobacteriaceae, for which the name Salinarchaeum laminariae gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is R26T (type strain R26T = CGMCC 1.10590T = JCM 17267T, reference strain R22 = CGMCC 1.10589).