Rhodocaloribacter litoris gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from an intertidal hot spring

Red-pigmented strains of non-sporeforming, aerobic, chemoorganotrophic bacteria were isolated from intertidal hot springs in Laugarvík, NW-Iceland. Cells stained Gram-negative and formed pleomorphic rods that often had swollen ends and occurred singly or in filaments. Growth was observed at 40-65 °C (optimum at 60 °C), pH 6-9 (optimum at 6.5-8) and 0.5-5% (optimum at 1-2%) (w/v) NaCl. Strain ISCAR-4553 contained MK-7 as the main respiratory quinone and saturated iso and anteiso branched chains of 17 and 15 carbons as the main cellular fatty acids (83.4%). The G+C content of the DNA is 67.3 mol%. The highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity was with the genus (92.0%) and followed by , and (88-90%). Genome and phenotype comparisons supported the affiliation of the novel isolates and the genus to the family of the phylum . The described isolates are proposed to be classified as representatives of a novel species belonging to a novel genus, with the name gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is ISCAR-4553 (=DSM 110790 = ATCC TSD-179 ).