Oleiharenicola alkalitolerans gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the phylum Verrucomicrobia isolated from an oilsands tailings pond

A novel member of the phylum Verrucomicrobia was isolated from an oilsands tailings pond in Alberta, Canada. Cells of isolate NVT are Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, non-pigmented, non-motile cocci to diplococci 0.5-1.0 µm in diameter. The bacterium is neutrophilic (optimum pH 6.0-8.0) but alkalitolerant, capable of growth between pH 5.5 and 11.0. The temperature range for growth is 15-40 °C (optimum 25-37 °C). Carbon and energy sources include sugars and organic acids. Nitrogen sources include nitrate, urea, l-glycine, l-alanine, l-proline and l-serine. Does not fix atmospheric nitrogen. Does not require NaCl and is inhibited at NaCl concentrations above 3.0 % (w/v). The DNA G+C content of strain NVT , based on a draft genome sequence, is 66.1 mol%. MK-6 and MK-7 are the major respiratory quinones. Major cellular fatty acids are anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strain belongs to the family Opitutaceae of the phylum Verrucomicrobia. The most closely related validated species is Opitutus terrae (93.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity to its type strain PB90-1 ). Based on genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, it was concluded that this strain represents a novel genus and species, for which the name Oleiharenicola alkalitolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of this novel species is NVT (=ATCC BAA-2697 ;=DSM 29249 ).