Genomic comparison between members of the Salinibacteraceae family, and description of a new species of Salinibacter (Salinibacter altiplanensis sp. nov.) isolated from high altitude hypersaline environments of the Argentinian Altiplano

The application of tandem MALDI-TOF MS screening with 16S rRNA gene sequencing of selected isolates has been demonstrated to be an excellent approach for retrieving novelty from large-scale culturing. The application of such methodologies in different hypersaline samples allowed the isolation of the culture-recalcitrant Salinibacter ruber second phylotype (EHB-2) for the first time, as well as a new species recently isolated from the Argentinian Altiplano hypersaline lakes. In this study, the genome sequences of the different species of the phylum Rhodothermaeota were compared and the genetic repertoire along the evolutionary gradient was analyzed together with each intraspecific variability. Altogether, the results indicated an open pan-genome for the family Salinibacteraceae, as well as the codification of relevant traits such as diverse rhodopsin genes, CRISPR-Cas systems and spacers, and one T6SS secretion system that could give ecological advantages to an EHB-2 isolate. For the new Salinibacter species, we propose the name Salinibacter altiplanensis sp. nov. (the designated type strain is AN15T = CECT 9105T = IBRC-M 11031T).Fil: Viver, Tomeu. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; EspañaFil: Orellana, Luis. Instituto Tecnológico de Georgia; Estados Unidos. Georgia Institute of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: González Torres, Pedro. Universidad de Alicante; EspañaFil: Díaz, Sara. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; EspañaFil: Urdiain, Mercedes. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; EspañaFil: Farias, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos; ArgentinaFil: Benes, Vladimir. European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg;Fil: Kaempfer, Peter. Justus Liebig University Giessen;Fil: Shahinpei, Azadeh. University Of Tehran; IránFil: Ali Amoozegar, Mohammad. University Of Tehran; IránFil: Amann, Rudolf. Max Planck Institut Für Marine Mikrobiologie;Fil: Antón, Josefa. Universidad de Alicante; EspañaFil: Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T.. Georgia Institute of Techology; Estados Unidos. Instituto Tecnológico de Georgia; Estados UnidosFil: Rosselló Móra, Ramon. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados; Españ