Salicola marasensis gen. nov., sp. nov., an extremely halophilic bacterium isolated from the Maras solar salterns in Peru

Six strains of extremely halophilic bacteria were isolated from several crystallizer ponds of the Maras solar salterns in the Peruvian Andes. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, G+C contents and DNA-DNA hybridization results, the six isolates constituted a genomically homogeneous group affiliated with the Gammaproteobacteria. The closest relatives were members of the halophilic genera Halovibrio and Halospina, which showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities below 97% and whole-genome hybridization levels below 33% for the type strain, 7Sm5^T. From the genomic and phenotypic properties of the six novel isolates and phylogenetic reconstruction based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, they can be considered to represent a novel genus within the Gammaproteobacteria. On the basis of the taxonomic study, a novel genus, Salicola gen. nov., is proposed containing the single species Salicola marasensis sp. nov., which is the type species. The type strain of Salicola marasensis is 7Sm5^T ( = CECT 7107^T = CIP 108835^T).