Genomic Analysis of Halotolerant Bacterial Strains NC18 and NC20.

Two novel, halotolerant strains of , NC18 and NC20, were isolated from deep subsurface sediment, deeply sequenced, and comparatively analyzed with related strains. Based on a phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences, the two strains grouped with members of the genus . Here, we sequenced the complete genomes of NC18 and NC20 to understand the mechanisms of their halotolerance. The genome sizes and G+C content of the strains were 6.1 Mb and 61.8 mol%, respectively. Moreover, NC18 and NC20 were predicted to contain 5,849 and 5,830 genes, and 5,502 and 5,585 protein-coding genes, respectively. Both strains contain the identically predicted 6 rRNAs and 48 tRNAs. The harboring of halotolerant-associated genes revealed that strains NC18 and NC20 might tolerate high salinity through the accumulation of potassium ions in a "salt-in" strategy induced by K uptake protein (kup) and the K transport system (trkAH and kdpFABC). These two strains also use the ectoine transport system (dctPQM), the glycine betaine transport system (proVWX), and glycine betaine uptake protein (opu) to accumulate "compatible solutes," such as ectoine and glycine betaine, to protect cells from salt stress. This study reveals the halotolerance mechanism of strains NC18 and NC20 in high salt environments and suggests potential applications for these halotolerant and halophilic strains in environmental biotechnology.