A novel Gram-stain-positive, facultatively aerobic, slightly halophilic, endospore-forming bacterium, designated G6-18T, was isolated from saline soil collected in Yingkou, Liaoning, PR China. Cells of strain G6-18T grew at 10–37 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum, pH 8.0) and in the presence of 2–15 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 5 %). The strain could be clearly distinguished from the related species of the genus
Paraliobacillus
by its phylogenetic position and biochemical characteristics. It presented MK-7 as the major quinone and the dominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C14 : 0. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol as the major components. The G+C content of strain G6-18T genome was 35.3 mol%. 16S rRNA analysis showed that strain G6-18T had the highest similarity to
Paraliobacillus ryukyuensis
DSM 15140T, reaching 97.0 %, followed by
Paraliobacillus quinghaiensis
CGMCC 1.6333T with a value of 96.3 %. The average nucleotide identity values between strain G6-18T and
Paraliobacillus ryukyuensis
DSM 15140T, Paraliobacillus sedimins KCTC 33762T,
Paraliobacillus quinghaiensis
CGMCC 1.6333T and
Paraliobacillus zengyii
DSM 107811T were 74.3, 72.0, 73.2 and 72.8 %, respectively, and the digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain G6-18T and the neighbouring strains were 15.6, 13.8, 14.2 and 14.2 %, respectively. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic inferences, strain G6-18T represents a novel species of the genus
Paraliobacillus
, for which the name Paraliobacillus salinarum sp. nov. (=CGMCC 1.12058T=DSM 25428T) is proposed.
