Actinopolyspora sabaoui sp. nov., a novel halophilic actinobacterium isolated from Ghardaïa soil, Algeria

A novel halophilic actinobacterium, designated H202 ^T , was isolated from a Saharan soil in the Ahbès region (Béni-Isguen, Ghardaïa province, South Algeria), and its taxonomic position was determined by a genome-based polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain H202 ^T belonged to the genus Actinopolyspora and showed the highest sequence similarity to Actinopolyspora mzabensis DSM 45460 ^T (99.46%). Comparative genomic analysis based on digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH), average nucleotide identity (ANI) and average amino acid identity (AAI) showed values below the recommended species cut-off thresholds of 70% (dDDH) and 95–96% (ANI and AAI), suggesting that the strain H202 ^T represents a novel species. This strain exhibits the typical characteristics of the genus Actinopolyspora . The cell-wall hydrolysates contained meso -diaminopimelic acid, and the diagnostic whole-cell sugars were arabinose and galactose. Phosphatidylcholine was identified as the diagnostic phospholipid, and the predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H ₄ ) and MK-10(H ₄ ). The major fatty acids (≥10%) were anteiso -C _17:0 , iso -C _15:0 , iso -C _16:0 and anteiso -C _15:0 . The genome size of strain H202 ^T was estimated to be 5.2 Mbp, with a G+C content of 67.5%. Based on these findings, strain H202 ^T is proposed as a representative of a novel species within the genus Actinopolyspora , named Actinopolyspora sabaoui sp. nov. The type strain is H202 ^T (=DSM 46671 ^T =CECT 31287 ^T ).