RECLASSIFICATION OF HALOBACTEROIDES-HALOBIUS Z-7287 ON THE BASIS OF PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS AS A NEW SPECIES HALOBACTEROIDES-ELEGANS SP-NOV

The total DNA and 16S ribosomal RNA sequences of strain Z-7287 and clo sely related strains Z-7187 and Z-7387, previously assigned, on phenot ypic evidence, to Halobacteroides halobius with the type strain H. hal obius MD-1(T), were compared with those of other representatives of th e genus Halobacteroides and of other haloanaerobic genera. The strains studied are shown to form a distinct species of the genus Halobactero ides. The description of the new species, Halobacteroides elegans sp. nov. with the type strain Z-7287, is given. It is also shown that the members of the cluster of species including H. halobius, H. lacunaris, H. elegans, and Haloanaerobacter chitinovorans should be considered a s representatives of a single genus Halobacteroides.