Haloferax larsenii sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon from a solar saltern

Three strains of Gram-negative, aerobic, neutrophilic, extremely halophilic archaea, designated ZJ206^T, 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 ZJ206^T 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 ZJ206^T (=CGMCC 1.5347^T=JCM 13917^T).