Halorussus

Abstract

Ha.lo.rus'sus. Gr. masc. n. hals , halos , salt; L. masc. adj. russus red; N.L. masc. n. Halorussus red salt organism. Euryarchaeota / Halobacteria / Halobacteriales / Halobacteriaceae The genus Halorussus is classified with the family Halobacteriaceae , order Halobacteriales , in the class Halobacteria . Cells are motile pleomorphic rods under optimal growth conditions, are red pigmented, stain Gram‐negative, and lyse in distilled water. Halorussus spp. are neutrophiles that grow optimally at pH 6.5–7.5 and at 37 °C. They are aerobic, chemoorganotrophic extreme halophiles (optimum growth at 1.7–2.6 M NaCl), and can grow on a wide range of carbohydrates, organic acids, and amino acids as carbon and energy source. Sugars are metabolized with formation of acids. The major polar lipids are the diphytanyl glycerol diether derivatives of phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester (PGP‐Me), phosphatidylglycerol sulfate (PGS), and five major glycolipids chromatographically identical to mannosyl glucosyl diether (DGD‐1), an unknown diglycosyl diether (DGD‐2), sulfated mannosyl glucosyl diether (S‐DGD‐1), galactosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether (TGD‐1), and sulfated galactosyl mannosyl glucosyl diether (S‐TGD‐1), respectively. Currently, the genus contains three species: Halorussus rarus (the type species of the genus), Hrs. amylolyticus , and Hrs. ruber . All known Halorussus strains were isolated from marine solar salterns and salt lakes. DNA G + C content (mol%) : 63.3–66.1. Type species : Halorussus rarus Cui, Gao, Yang and Xu 2014, 2 VP (Effective publication: Cui, Gao, Yang and Xu 2010, 498).