Kocuria salina sp. nov., an actinobacterium isolated from the rhizosphere of the halophyte Arthrocnemum macrostachyum and emended description of Kocuria turfanensis.

A novel, non-motile coccoid, Gram-positive and non-endospore forming bacterium, designated Hv14b, was isolated from the rhizosphere of the halophyte Arthrocnemum macrostachyum. It was observed to be catalase positive and oxidase negative and able to hydrolyse starch. MK-8(H2) was identified as the dominant menaquinone and the major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified glycolipid. The 16S rRNA genes showed the highest 16S rRNA sequence identity with K. polaris DSM 14382, K. rosea DSM 20447 and K. turfanensis DSM 22143. Based on the phenotypic and molecular features and DNA-DNA hybridization data, it is concluded that strain Hv14b is proposed to represent a novel species in the genus Kocuria, Kocuria salina sp. nov., with the type strain Hv14b=DSM 28714=CECT 9229.