''Azomonas agilis'' is a species of

motile Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy. Definitions Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms th ...

Gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

found in water and is capable of

fixing Fixing may refer to: * The present participle of the verb "to fix", an action meaning maintenance, repair, and operations * "fixing someone up" in the context of arranging or finding a social date for someone * "Fixing", craving an addictive drug, ...

atmospheric

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

. It is the type strain for the genus ''

Azomonas ''Azomonas'' species are typically motile, oval to spherical, and secrete large quantities of capsular slime. They are distinguished from ''Azotobacter'' by their inability to form cysts, but like ''Azotobacter'', they can biologically fix nit ...

''. ''A. agilis'' resembles protists with its ovoid, ellipsoidal, or coccoid cells. The cells are relatively large, usually 2.5-6.4 μm long and 2.0-2.8 μm wide, though giant cells that are 10.0-13.5 μm have been described. The cells have peritrichous

flagella A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

which enable motility. The species also produces a diffusible yellow-green or red-violet pigment which fluoresces bluish-white under

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

light. ''A. agilis'' was first isolated and described by

Martinus Beijerinck Martinus Willem Beijerinck (, 16 March 1851 – 1 January 1931) was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist who was one of the founders of virology and environmental microbiology. He is credited with the discovery of viruses, which he called "''c ...

in 1901, who obtained the species from Dutch canal water in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

. Beijernick's original strain has been lost, so the strain isolated by

Albert Kluyver Albert Jan Kluyver ForMemRS (June 3, 1888 – May 14, 1956) was a Dutch microbiologist and biochemist. Career In 1926, Kluyver and Hendrick Jean Louis Donker published the now classic paper, "Die Einheit in der Biochemie" ("Unity in Biochemist ...

and van den Bout is now the neotype. Despite the fact that

mannitol Mannitol is a type of sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and medication. It is used as a low calorie sweetener as it is poorly absorbed by the intestines. As a medication, it is used to decrease pressure in the eyes, as in glaucoma, and to lower ...

was used by Beijerinck in his enrichment medium for ''A. agilis'', the bacteria in pure culture cannot use it as a carbon source unless it is first degraded by other microbes. The species can tolerate salt concentrations up to 1.0% and is resistant to

iodoacetate Iodoacetic acid is a derivative of acetic acid. It is a toxic compound, because, like many alkyl halides, it is an alkylating agent. It reacts with cysteine residues in proteins. It is often used to modify SH-groups to prevent the re-formation o ...

(1 μM) which suggests it may have ability to live in contaminated waters with relatively high concentrations of organic matter and mineral salts. This bacterium has also been implicated in the

bioremediation Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...

-polluted water.You KM, Park YK. Cd2 removal by Azomonas agilis PY101, a cadmium accumulating strain in continuous aerobic culture. Biotechnol Lett. 2004 Nov 2;20(12):1157-59.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Azomonas agilis'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Pseudomonadales Bacteria described in 1938 {{Pseudomonadales-stub