Reidentification of the keratinase-producing facultatively alkaliphilic Bacillus sp AH-101 as Bacillus halodurans

Alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. AH-101 was characterized in terms of physiologica l and biochemical characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence homology and DNA-D NA hybridization analyses were performed. Phylogenetic analysis of strain A H-101 based on comparison of 16S rDNA sequences revealed that this strain i s closely related to Bacillus halodurans. DNA-DNA hybridization of AH-101 a nd related Bacillus reference strains showed that the highest level of DNA- DNA relatedness (88%) was found between strain AH-101 and the B. halodurans type strain (DSM497). Our findings demonstrate that strain AH-101 is a mem ber of the species B. halodurans.