Loktanella pyoseonensis sp. nov., isolated from beach sand, and emended description of the genus Loktanella.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, heterotrophic, obligately halophilic bacterium, designated strain JJM85T, was isolated from beach sand in Jeju, Republic of Korea. Cells were rod-shaped and motile by means of flagella; colonies were pink, convex and smooth with an entire edge. The organism grew at pH 5.0–10.0 and 4–30 °C. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the organism belonged to the genus Loktanella of the class Alphaproteobacteria and formed a tight cluster with the type strain of Loktanella hongkongensis (96.0 % sequence similarity). The DNA G+C content and fatty acid profile of the novel strain supported affiliation with the genus Loktanella. However, the novel strain could be differentiated clearly from members of this genus by cell motility, some physiological properties and low 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (93.1–96.0 %). On the basis of the polyphasic data presented here, strain JJM85T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Loktanella, for which the name Loktanella pyoseonensis sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is JJM85T (=KCTC 22372T =DSM 21424T).