Alishewanella aestuarii sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediment, and emended description of the genus Alishewanella.

A Gram-negative strain, B11(T), was isolated from tidal flat sediment in Yeosu, Republic of Korea. Strain B11(T) did not require NaCl for growth and grew between 18 and 44 degrees C. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain B11(T) was associated with the genus Alishewanella and was closely related to the type strain of Alishewanella fetalis (98.3 % similarity). Within the phylogenetic tree, the novel isolate shared a branching point with A. fetalis. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences and DNA-DNA relatedness, as well as physiological and biochemical tests, indicated genotypic and phenotypic differences between strain B11(T) and the type strain of A. fetalis. Thus, strain B11(T) is proposed as a representative of a novel species, Alishewanella aestuarii sp. nov.; the type strain is B11(T) (=KCTC 22051(T) =DSM 19476(T)).