Halomonas hibernica sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium with high catalase activity isolated from the traditional food process of Wiltshire curing

A Gram-negative bacterium was isolated from the traditional food process of Wiltshire curing and was investigated to assess the strain as a possible new species. The isolate was salt tolerant and grew at a wide temperature range, including as low as 4°C. The 16S rRNA marker gene indicated that the strain was a member of the genus Halomonas. The isolate was phylogenetically distinct from all of the other tested strains. The genome was sequenced and annotated, and bioinformatic comparative analysis supported this isolate as being a new species. Phenotypic analysis also revealed that the isolate had a unique phenotypic signature when compared to other closely related Halomonas species. The isolate was named Halomonas hibernica, due to its country of isolation.