HALOMONAS-MERIDIANA, A NEW SPECIES OF EXTREMELY HALOTOLERANT BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM ANTARCTIC SALINE LAKES

Halomonas meridiana sp. nov., is proposed for seven strains of halotolerant, non-pigmented bacteria isolated from several hypersaline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. These strains, plus 17 new isolates of the Antaractic species Halomonas subglaciescola and six reference strains of halotolerant bacteria, were tested for 134 physical and biochemical attributes. The data were analysed by numerical taxonomic procedures. The new isolates clustered most closely with the reference strains Halomonas elongata (ATCC 33173T) and Halomonas halmophila (NCMB 1971T) and furthest from Halomonas subglaciescola (UQM 2926T and UQM 2927), but were sufficiently distinct to be considered as a new species. The strains of Halomonas meridiana separated into two phenons but representatives of both groups had DNA with 59±1 mol% G+C. © 1990, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart · New York. All rights reserved.