Loktanella atrilutea sp. nov., isolated from seawater in Japan.

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, IG8(T), was isolated from seawater off the Sanriku coast, Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain IG8(T) represented a separate lineage within the genus Loktanella; the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values were found with the type strains of Loktanella salsilacus (98.6 %) and Loktanella fryxellensis (98.4 %). DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain IG8(T) and the type strains of L. salsilacus (27.9-36.1 %) and L. fryxellensis (11.3-31.0 %) were clearly below 70 %, the generally accepted limit for species delineation. The DNA G+C content of strain IG8(T) was 66.3 mol%. On the basis of DNA-DNA hybridization, some biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison, it is proposed that the isolate represents a novel species, Loktanella atrilutea sp. nov. The type strain is IG8(T) (=IAM 15450(T)=NCIMB 14280(T)).