Loktanella agnita sp nov and Loktanella rosea sp nov., from the north-west Pacific Ocean

One whitish and four pinkish strains of Gram-negative, non-motile, aerobic bacteria were isolated from sea-water and sediment samples collected in Chazhma Bay (Sea of Japan, Pacific Ocean). Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that these strains belonged to the 'Alphaproteobacteria', having highest sequence similarity of about 94-97% with species of the genus Loktanella. None of the strains degraded gelatin, casein, chitin, agar, DNA or starch and they had limited ability to utilize carbon sources. The four pinkish strains, Fg36T, Fg1, Fg116 and Fg117, degraded Tween 80. Sea-water strain R10SW5T grew at 3-6% NaCl and a temperature range of 8-35 °C, whilst strains Fg36T, Fg1, Fg116 and Fg117 grew at NaCl concentrations of 1-12% and a temperature range of 4-35 °C. Phosphatidylglycerol (58/79%), diphosphatidylglycerol (11/6%) and phosphatidylcholine (28/22%) were the major phospholipids. The predominant fatty acids were 16:0 (12.2/8-6%) and 18:1 ω7 (76.6/68.4%). The DNA G+C content of strain R10SW5T was 59.1 mol% and those of the four pinkish strains ranged from 60.5 to 61.8 mol%. Based on the results of phenotypic, genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic investigation, two novel species, Loktanella agnita sp. nov. and Loktanella rosea sp. nov., are proposed. The type strains are R10SW5T (=KMM3788T=CIP 107883T) and Fg36T (=KMM 6003T=CIP 107851T=LMG 22534T), respectively. © 2005 IUMS.