Natronosalvus halobius gen. nov., sp. nov., Natronosalvus caseinilyticus sp. nov., Natronosalvus vescus sp. nov., Natronosalvus rutilus sp. nov. and Natronosalvus amylolyticus sp. nov., halophilic archaea isolated from salt lakes and soda lakes

Five halophilic archaeal strains (AGai3-5T, KZCA101T, CGA3T, WLHS1T and WLHSJ1T) were isolated from salt lakes and soda lakes in PR China. These strains had low 16S rRNA gene similarities (91.3-96.0 %) to closely related species of the family Natrialbaceae and may represent a new genus of the family. Phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses revealed that these strains formed a distinct clade, separate from the nearby genera Natronobiforma and Saliphagus. The average nucleotide identity, digital DNA-DNA hybridization and average amino acid identity (AAI) values among these five strains and the current members of the family Natrialbaceae were 72-90, 20-42 and 62-91 %, respectively, clearly below the threshold values for species demarcation. According to the critical value of AAI (≤76 %) proposed to differentiate genera within the family Natrialbaceae, it was further indicated that these strains represented a novel genus within the family. These strains could be distinguished from the related genera according to differential phenotypic characteristics. The major lipids of these strains were phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester, mannosyl glucosyl diether (DGD-PA), sulphated DGD-1 (S-DGD-PA) and sulphated galactosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and phylogenomic features indicated that strains AGai3-5T (=CGMCC 1.16078T=JCM 33549T), KZCA101T (=CGMCC 1.17431T=JCM 35074T), CGA3T (=CGMCC 1.17463T=JCM 34318T), WLHS1T (=CGMCC 1.13780T=JCM 33562T) and WLHSJ1T (=CGMCC 1.13784T=JCM 33563T) represent five novel species of a new genus within the family Natrialbaceae, named Natronosalvus halobius gen. nov., sp. nov., Natronosalvus caseinilyticus sp. nov., Natronosalvus vescus sp. nov., Natronosalvus rutilus sp. nov. and Natronosalvus amylolyticus sp. nov., respectively.