Proteobacterium
| "Proteobacteria" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Escherichia coli | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: |
Proteobacteria Stackebrandt et al., 1988, Garrity et al. 2005 |
The "Proteobacteria" are a major phylum of Gram-negative bacteria. The name of the phylum has never been validly published as no type genus has been proposed, thus it must be styled in quotation marks as the name has no standing in nomenclature. They include a wide variety of pathogens, such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, Helicobacter, Yersinia, and many other notable genera. Others are free-living (nonparasitic), and include many of the bacteria responsible for nitrogen fixation.
Carl Woese established this grouping in 1987, calling it informally the "purple bacteria and their relatives". Because of the great diversity of forms found in this group, the "Proteobacteria" are named after Proteus, a Greek god of the sea capable of assuming many different shapes and is not named after the genus Proteus.
The Alphaproteobacteria grow at very low levels of nutrients and have unusual morphology such as stalks and buds. They include agriculturally important bacteria capable of inducing nitrogen fixation in symbiosis with plants. The type order is the Caulobacterales, comprising stalk-forming bacteria such as Caulobacter.
The Betaproteobacteria are highly metabolically diverse and contain chemolithoautotrophs, photoautotrophs, and generalist heterotrophs. The type order is the Burkholderiales, comprising an enormous range of metabolic diversity, including opportunistic pathogens.
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