| Halomonadaceae | |
|---|---|
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| GFAJ-1 grown on phosphorus. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Gammaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Oceanospirillales |
| Family: | Halomonadaceae |
| Genera | |
|
Aidingimonas | |
Halomonadaceae is a family of halophilic Pseudomonadota.
The family was originally described in 1988 to contain the genera Halomonas and Deleya.[3]
In 1989, Chromobacterium marismortui was reclassified as Chromohalobacter marismortui forming a third genus in the family Halomonadaceae.[4]
Subsequently, in 1990 a species was discovered and was originally proposed to be called Volcaniella eurihalina forming a new genus in the Halomonadaceae,[5] but was later (in 1995) reclassified as a member of the genus Halomonas.[6]
The species Carnimonas nigrificans (sole member of genus) was not placed in the family due to the lack of two out of 15 descriptive 16S rRNA signature sequences,[7] but it has been proposed to reclassify it into the family.[8]
In 1996, the family was later reorganised by unifying genera Deleya, Halomonas and Halovibrio and the species Paracoccus halodenitrificans into Halomonas and placing Zymobacter in this family.[9] However, it was later discovered that the strain of Halovibrio variabilis DSM 3051 and DSM 3050 differed and the latter was made type strain of the Halovibrio, which remains still in use.[10][11] and now comprising two species (the other being Halovibrio denitrificans)[11]
In 2002, Halomonas marina was transferred to its own genus Cobetia,[12] and in 2009 Halomonas marisflavi, Halomonas indalinina. and Halomonas avicenniae were transferred to a new genus called Kushneria (5 species)
Several singleton genera were created recently: in 2007, Halotalea alkalilenta was described,[13] Aidingimonas halophila in 2009,[14] Halospina denitrificans in 2006,[11] Modicisalibacter tunisiensis in 2009[15] Salinicola socius in 2009.[16] To the latter genus two species were transferred Halomonas salaria as Salinicola salarius and Chromohalobacter salarius as Salinicola halophilus.[17]
The family also contain the recently discovered but uncultured bacterium "Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum" (primary endosymbionts of whiteflies[18]).
Note: Species of Deleya and Halovibrio are now Halomonas
The names derives from Halomonas, which is the type genus of the family, plus the suffix -aceae, ending to denote a family[30]
Geomicrobiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon with a NASA funded team is researching a particular strain the family Halomonadaceae, named GFAJ-1, isolated and cultured from sediments collected along the shore of Mono Lake, near Yosemite National Park in eastern California.[31][32] This GFAJ-1 strain of Halomonadaceae can grow in the presence of high concentrations of arsenic.[33]