Identification of a Novel Haloarchaeal Species sp. nov., Isolated from Salt Crystals of Salted Seaweed Knots and Genomic Insights into Genus .

An extremely halophilic archaeon named strain PRR65 was isolated from a salt crystal of salted seaweed knots which were purchased from a supermarket in Wuhu, China. It exhibited an ability to hydrolyze starch. Strain PRR65 is a coccus. Its growth range and optimum concentration for NaCl are 2.0-5.1 M and 3.4 M, respectively, and it requires magnesium ions (with an optimum concentration of 0.01 M). Homology search of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain PRR65 shows the highest sequence similarities with GX3 (96.97%). The basic growth conditions and many other physicochemical characteristics of strain PRR65 are distinct from those of other species within its genus. The average nucleotide identity (ANI), average amino acid identity (AAI), and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between strain PRR65 and its close relatives were 88.97%, 86.47% and 39.2%, respectively. The DNA G + C content (mol%) for strain PRR65 is 67.2%. Based on a polyphasic taxonomic approach integrating phenotypic characteristics, chemotaxonomic markers, and comprehensive phylogenetic and genomic analyses, strain PRR65 represents a novel species within the genus . The name sp. nov. is proposed, with the specific epithet reflecting the organism's notable amylolytic activity. The type strain is PRR65 (= MCCC 4K00175 = KCTC 4323).

© 2025 YAWEN LIU et al., published by Sciendo.