A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, oxidase- and catalase-positive and non-motile bacterium, named MINF-07-Sa-05T, was isolated from sediment samples collected from Niya Fish Salt Lake in Xinjiang, northwest China. Phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain MINF-07-Sa-05T consistently fell within the genus Nitrincola and formed a clade together with Nitrincola alkalilacustris ZV-19T (98.97%) and Nitrincola lacisaponensis 4CAT (96.16%). Genomic average nucleotide identity values for strain MINF-07-Sa-05T with the type strains within the genus Nitrincola ranged from 69.8 to 87.8%, while the in silico DNA-DNA hybridization values for strain MINF-07-Sa-05T with these strains ranged from 20.4 to 33.7%. The genome sequence size of the strain was 4.81 Mb, with a DNA G+C content of 52.6 mol%. Its growth occurred at 4-40 °C, at pH 6.0-10.0, and tolerated up to 9% (w/v) NaCl. The major fatty acids contained summed feature 8 (C18:1 ω7c/C18:1 ω6c; 59.8%), summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c/C16:1 ω6c; 20.4%) and C16:0 (13.8%). The primary respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8. The main polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. Genomic analyses showed a high abundance of genes involved in the nitrogen, sulphur cycle and antibiotic resistance. According to the genotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic data, strain MINF-07-Sa-05T represents a novel species within the genus Nitrincola, for which the name Nitrincola salilacus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MINF-07-Sa-05T (=GDMCC 1.4420T=JCM 37233T).
Keywords: Nitrincola; chemotaxonomic characterization; comparative genomics; genomic analysis; salt lake.