Transfer of Halomonas canadensis and Halomonas israelensis to the genus Chromohalobacter as Chromohalobacter canadensis comb. nov. and Chromohalobacter israelensis comb. nov.

16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons and DNA-DNA hybridization data support the conclusion that two species previously described as members of the genus Halomonas, Halomonas israelensis and Halomonas canadensis, should be placed in the genus Chromohalobacter. Both H. israelensis ATCC 43985T (= Ba1T) and H. canadensis ATCC 43984T (= NRCC 41227T) have been used extensively for physiological studies for many years; nevertheless, they were not named and classified taxonomically until quite recently. Their phenotypic resemblance (at least 65% Jaccard similarity) to some members of the genus Halomonas and the degree of DNA-DNA relatedness (lower than 60%) to other described species of this genus permitted the conclusion that they were distinct species belonging to the genus Halomonas. In this study, the 16S rDNA of both species has been sequenced completely and found to share higher similarity to the available sequences of the moderately halophilic bacterium Chromohalobacter marismortui than to sequences of members of the genus Halomonas. C. marismortui is the sole species of the genus Chromohalobacter, also included in the family Halomonadaceae, and shares many phenotypic features with H. canadensis and H. israelensis. It is proposed that the two species should be renamed as Chromohalobacter canadensis comb. nov. and Chromohalobacter israelensis comb. nov. An emended description of the genus Chromohalobacter is given in order to include the features of these two species.