Xanthobacteraceae | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Bacteria |
Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
Class: | Alphaproteobacteria |
Order: | Hyphomicrobiales |
Family: | Xanthobacteraceae Lee et al. 2005 |
Genera[1] | |
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Synonyms | |
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The Xanthobacteraceae are a family of bacteria that includes Azorhizobium, a genus of rhizobia. Xanthobacteraceae bacteria are diverse and Gram-negative, rod-shaped, and may be motile or non-motile depending on the specific bacteria. Their cells range in size from 0.4–1.0 × 0.8–6 μm,[3] but when grown in the presence of alcohol as the sole carbon source, they can reach up to 10 μm in length. These bacteria do not form spores and have opaque, slimy colonies that appear slightly yellow due to the presence of zeaxanthin dirhamnoside.[4]
The genus Xanthobacter was established in 1978 by Wiegel et al. based on numerical taxonomic comparisons of microorganisms that were then classified in the genus Corynebacterium. In 2005, Lee et al. proposed the family Xanthobacteraceae based on a comparison of 16S rRNA of the members of Alphaproteobacteria. The family includes five genera, namely Xanthobacter, Azorhizobium, Ancylobacter, Labrys, and Starkeya.[4]