Growth at 5–55 uC (intervals of 5 uC) was tested on ISP
medium 4 containing 15% (w/v) NaCl. To determine
tolerance of NaCl, ISP medium 4 was used as the basal
medium and the salt concentration was adjusted from 0–
30% (w/v) NaCl at intervals of 5%. Growth at pH 4–10
(intervals of 1 pH unit) was determined using the following
buffer system: 0.1 M citric acid/0.1 M sodium citrate
(pH 4–5); 0.1 M KH2PO4/0.1 M NaOH (pH 6–8); 0.1 M
NaHCO3/0.1 M Na2CO3 (pH 9–10). The media and
procedures used for the determination of physiological
features and carbon source utilization were those described
by Williams et al. (1989). Enzyme activity was determined
by using the API ZYM system (bioMe´rieux) according to
the manufacturer’s instructions. The phenotypic characteristics
of strains YIM 90480T and YIM 90600T were
distinctly different from A. halophila DSM 43834T and A.
mortivallis DSM 44261T (Table 2). The detailed physiological
and biochemical characteristics of the novel isolates
are given in the species description.