Haloferax larsenii sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon from a solar saltern
Three strains of Gram-negative, aerobic, neutrophilic, extremely halophilic archaea, designated ZJ206T, ZJ203 and ZJ204, were isolated from a solar saltern in Zhe-Jiang Province, China. Phenotypically and on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, the strains were very similar. Comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed 96.4–97.4 % sequence similarity to members of the genus Haloferax. The major polar lipids were C20C20 derivatives of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, diglycosyl glycerol diether and sulfated diglycosyl diether. The DNA G+C content of strain ZJ206T was 62.2 mol%. The results of DNA–DNA hybridizations and physiological and biochemical tests allowed genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of the isolates from closely related species. Therefore the isolates should be classified as members of a novel species, for which the name Haloferax larsenii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ZJ206T (=CGMCC 1.5347T=JCM 13917T).