Isolation and characterization of a new moderately halophilic bacterium strain SM. 200-5 from Solar Saltern Ponds

A new moderately halophilic bacterium strain SM. 200-5 was isolated from the solar saltern ponds with salinity 200 in Hangu Saltworks, Tianjin, China. The cells of the strain SM. 200-5 were rods and Gram-negative. They could grow in a salinity range of 30-150 and initial pH 6-11, with optimum of salinity 100 and initial pH 7. 16S rDNA alignment showed that the strain SM. 200-5 had 93-95 % similarity with those sequences of genus Salimicrobium sp. Biochemical characterization analysis via API 20E system indicated that biochemical characters of the strain SM. 200-5 were partially different from Salimicrobium sp. ISL-25, which was its closest member in the phylogenetic tree. Therefore, the strain SM. 200-5 proposed a new species of Salimicrobium. ? Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014.