RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Chen, Shaoxing A1 Xu, Yao A1 Sun, Siqi A1 Liu, Jingwen A1 Chen, FeilongYR 2020 T1 Halomicrococcus hydrotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon isolated from a subterranean salt deposit JF International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, VO 70 IS 8 SP 4425 OP 4431 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003534 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1466-5034, AB A halophilic archaeon, strain H22T, was isolated from a subterranean salt deposit sampled at Yunnan salt mine, PR China. Colonies of strain H22T were light pink-pigmented. Cells were coccus, non-motile, Gram-stain-negative, and did not lyse in distilled water. The strain was aerobic and grew at 20–55 °C (optimum, 37 °C), in the presence of 10–30 % (w/v) NaCl (20 %) and at pH 6.5–9.0 (pH 7.0). Mg2+ was required for growth (optimum, 0.005 M). Major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester and sulfated mannosyl-glucosyl-glycerol diether-1. Sequence similarity search based on the multiple 16S rRNA genes (rrnA, rrnB and rrnC) of strain H22T revealed that it was most closely related to species of the genera Haloarchaeobius , Haladaptatus , Halorussus and Halorubellus with relative low sequence similarities (91.9–93.7 %). The strain, however, shared highest rpoB′ gene sequence identities with Halorussus rarus TBN4T (90.8 % rpoB′ gene sequence similarity). Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA and rpoB′ gene sequences revealed a robust lineage of the strain H22T with members of related genera of the family Halobacteriaceae . The DNA G+C content of strain H22T was 62.9 mol%. Genome-based analysis of average nucleotide identity (ANI) and in silico DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH) between strains H22T and its closest relative were equal or lower than 77.7 and 22.4 %, respectively, which were far below the threshold for delineation of a new species. Based on ANI values, in silico DDH, and distinct morphological and physiological differences from the previously described taxa, we suggest that strain H22T represents a novel species of a new genus within the family Halobacteriaceae , for which the name Halomicrococcus hydrotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is H22T (=CGMCC 1.16291T=NBRC 113231T)., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijsem.0.003534