Billgrantia hypersalina sp. nov. LNSP4103-1T: A Halotolerant Bioplastic-Producing Bacterium from Saline Agricultural Soil

The genus <i>Billgrantia</i> includes species with characteristics relevant to biotechnology. Several of these species can produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), biodegradable biopolymers that play a role in adaptation to extreme conditions and have industrial applications. In this study, we describe a new species of the genus <i>Billgrantia</i> isolated from a sodium-saline soil in the community of Los Negritos, Villamar, Michoacán de Ocampo, Mexico. The strain LNSP4103-1^T was characterized at the genomic level using digital DNA-DNA hybridization and Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) approaches. The difference indices between strain LNSP4103-1^T and the type strains (<86%) were below the threshold, supporting its classification as a novel species. The LNSP4103-1^T strain produced polyhydroxyalkanoates, with a maximum specific polymer yield of Y_PHA/X 0.71 g PHA g^-1 biomass and a yield Y_PHA/S 0.56 g PHA g^-1 glucose under conditions of 12.5% (<i>w</i>/<i>v</i>) NaCl and pH 7.5. Additionally, sucrose, mannitol, lactose and galactose were identified as substrates for PHA production. The draft genome version was deposited in the NCBI under the accession number JBMIQI000000000. The polyphasic analysis identified strain LNSP4103-1^T (TDS-413^T, CAIM 1962^T) as a new species. We proposed its taxonomic assignment as <i>Billgrantia hypersalina</i> sp. nov.