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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #335004
Research Project: Use of Microorganisms to Manage Weeds and Insect Pests in Turf and Agricultural Systems

Location: Crop Bioprotection Research

Title: Rhodohalobacter halophila gen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately halophilic member of the family Balneolaceae

Author
item XIA, JUN - Shandong University
item XIE, ZHI-HONG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences
item Dunlap, Christopher
item Rooney, Alejandro - Alex
item DU, ZONG-JUN - Shandong University

Submitted to: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2017
Publication Date: 5/1/2017
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5931562
Citation: Xia, J., Xie, Z., Dunlap, C.A., Rooney, A.P., Du, Z. 2017. Rhodohalobacter halophila gen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately halophilic member of the family Balneolaceae. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 67:1281–1287. doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.001806.

Interpretive Summary: ARS researchers from Peoria, IL collaborated with scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shandong University in Weihai, China to characterize a novel bacterium found in marine environment. This manuscript reports on the characterization of a new genus and species of bacteria, Rhodohalobacter halophila, that grows in moderate salt concentrations. This species possesses novel and unusual biochemical characteristics, which makes it attractive for various agricultural and biotechnological purposes. As such, this strain was accessioned into the Crop Bioprotection Research Unit’s culture collection where its potential for biological control applications can be assessed in future studies.

Technical Abstract: A novel Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic, oxidase-negative and catalase-positive bacterium, designated JZ3C29**T was isolated from a saltern of city Feicheng, China. Strain JZ3C29**T was tolerant to moderate salt conditions. Optimal growth occurred at 40 °C (range 20-50 °C) and pH 7.5-8.5 (range pH 7.0-9.0) with 8-10 % (w/v) NaCl (range 2-16 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain JZ3C29**T shared highest similarity with Gracilimonas tropica CL-CB462**T (90.5 %), Gracilimonas mengyeensis YIM J14**T (90.5 %), and Gracilimonas rosea CL-KR2**T (90.4 %) and less than 90.0 % similarity with other species of the phylum Bacteroidetes. The isolate formed a novel genus-level clade in the newly built family Balneolaceae. The polar lipid profile of the novel isolate consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, 3 unidentified glycolipids, 4 unidentified phospholipids, and 2 unidentified lipids. The dominant cellular fatty acids (>10 %) were summed feature 3 (C16:1 '7c and/or iso-C15:0 2-OH) and iso-C15:0 and the sole respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The DNA G+C content of strain JZ3C29**T was 44.4 mol%. On the basis of these phenotypic and phylogenetic data, strain JZ3C29**T should be classified as a novel genus and species within the family Balneolaceae, for which the name Rhodohalobacter halophila gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JZ3C29**T (= MCCC 1H00131**T = KCTC 52046**T = JCM 31413**T).