Two Gram-negative, aerobic and rod-shaped or ovoid bacterial strains with different colony colours (greyish yellow and moderate orange), designated J-MR2-Y(T) and J-MR2-O, were isolated from a tidal flat in the South Sea of South Korea. The two novel strains grew optimally at 35-37 °C. Strains J-MR2-Y(T) and J-MR2-O showed no difference in their 16S rRNA gene sequences, and the mean DNA-DNA relatedness between them was 94%. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains J-MR2-Y(T) and J-MR2-O clustered consistently with the type strains of Loktanella soesokkakensis, L. hongkongensis and L. cinnabarina, with which it exhibited 97.83-99.06% sequence similarity. Sequence similarities to the type strains of the other recognized species of the genus Loktanella were 94.01-96.26%. Both strains contained Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone, C(18 : 1)ω7c as the major fatty acid and phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified glycolipid and one unidentified aminolipid as the major polar lipids. The DNA G+C contents of strains J-MR2-Y(T) and J-MR2-O were 68.1 and 68.4 mol%, respectively, and DNA-DNA relatedness values with the type strains of L. soesokkakensis, L. hongkongensis and L. cinnabarina were 19-37%. Differential phenotypic properties, together with their phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, revealed that the two novel strains are separated from other species of the genus Loktanella. On the basis of the data presented, strains J-MR2-Y(T) and J-MR2-O are proposed to represent a novel species of the genus Loktanella, for which the name Loktanella variabilis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is J-MR2-Y(T) ( = KCTC 42074(T) = CECT 8572(T)).
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