Halopenitus malekzadehii sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon isolated from a salt lake

Strain CC65(T), a novel extremely halophilic archaeon, was isolated from a brine sample of a salt lake in Iran. The novel strain was light yellow-pigmented, non-motile, pleomorphic and required at least 1.7 M NaCl and 0.02 M MgCl2 for growth. Optimal growth was achieved at 3.5 M NaCl and 0.4 M MgCl2. The optimum pH and temperature for growth were pH 7.5 and 40 degrees C, respectively, while it was able to grow over a pH and a temperature range of pH 6.5-9.0 and 30-50 degrees C, respectively. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain CC65(T) clustered with the sole member of the genus Halopenitus, Halopenitus persicus DC30(T) with a sequence similarity of 98.0%. The polar lipid profile of strain CC65(T) consisted of phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester. An unidentified glycolipid and two minor phospholipids were also observed. The only quinone present was MK-8(II-H-2). The DNA G+C content of strain CC65(T) was 63.8 mol%. On the basis of the biochemical and physiological characteristics, as well as DNA-DNA hybridization (44% with Halopenitus persicus IBRC 10041(T)), strain CC65(T) is classified as a novel species of the genus Halopenitus, for which the name Halopenitus malekzadehii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CC65(T) (=IBRC-M 10418(T)=KCTC 4045(T)).