Salisaeta longa gen. nov., sp. nov., a red, halophilic member of the Bacteroidetes

A rod-shaped, 15-30 mm long, red bacterium, affiliated phylogenetically with the phylum Bacteroidetes, was isolated from an experimental mesocosm at Sedom, Israel, filled with a mixture of water from the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. The organism stains Gram-negative and is obligately aerobic, heterotrophic and oxidase- and catalase-positive. Growth is obtained in the presence of 5-20% NaCl, with an optimum at 10% NaCl plus 5% MgCl₂ · 6H₂O. Temperature and pH optima are 37-46 °C and pH 6.5-8.5. Nitrate is not reduced. Glucose, sucrose, maltose and glycerol stimulate growth with acid formation; no growth stimulation is obtained in the presence of fructose, ribose, xylose, mannitol or sorbitol. The G+C content of the DNA is 62.9 mol% (HPLC). Main fatty acids are 16: 0 iso and 16: 1 cis9, followed by 15: 0 iso and 15: 0 anteiso. The isolate is sufficiently different from its closest relatives to be classified within a novel species belonging to a new genus, for which we propose the name Salisaeta longa gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Salisaeta longa is strain S4-4^T (=DSM 21114^T =CECT 7354^T).