Halobacillus faecis sp. nov., a spore-forming bacterium isolated from a mangrove area on Ishigaki Island, Japan

A Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped halophilic bacterial strain, IGA7-4T, was isolated from a mangrove area on Ishigaki Island (Japan), and was characterized taxonomically using a polyphasic approach. Strain IGA7-4T was strictly aerobic and non-motile and formed central endospores. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain IGA7-4T is affiliated to the genus Halobacillus, and exhibits sequence similarities of 99.6-98.0% to the type strains of Halobacillus species. Levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain IGA7-4T and the type strains of Halobacillus species were 9.5-46.6%. The DNA G+C content of strain IGA7-4T was 46.5 mol%. The cell-wall peptidoglycan type (Orn-Asp), major cellular fatty acids (anteiso-C15:0, anteiso-C17:0, iso-C15:0 and iso-C16:0) and quinone type (MK-7) of the isolate support its affiliation to the genus Halobacillus. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic data, the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Halobacillus, for which the name Halobacillus faecis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IGA7-4T (=MBIC08268T=IAM 15427T=KCTC 13121T).