Selected Correspondence of

A Gram-positive, non-spore-forming isolate, designated YIM 70212T, was isolated from a hypersaline soil sample collected from Qinghai, north-west China. Cells of the isolate were orange-pigmented, motile cocci with multiple flagella. A polyphasic taxonomic investigation was carried out on the isolate. The organism grew at 10–45 6C and pH 7?5–11?0, with optimum growth at 28 6C and pH 8?0–9?5. Strain YIM 70212T grew optimally in the presence of 10 % NaCl, KCl or MgCl2.6H2O and growth was observed in 1–25 % NaCl, KCl or MgCl2.6H2O. The peptidoglycan type was A1c. Ribose and minor amounts of galactose were detected as the whole-cell sugars. MK-5 was the only menaquinone. The major cellular fatty acids were ai-C15: 0 (52?4%) and ai-C17: 0 (26?5%). The DNA G+C content was 47?0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain YIM 70212T formed a distinct lineage within the order Bacillales and was most closely related to members of the genus Marinococcus, showing 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity levels of 91?0–91?4%. Based on the high 16S rRNA gene sequence divergence and differences in phenotypic characteristics, it is proposed that the unknown strain be classified in a novel genus and species with the name Sinococcus qinghaiensis gen. nov., sp. nov.; the type strain of Sinococcus qinghaiensis is YIM 70212T (=KCTC 3943T=DS