Non-fermenters (also non-fermenting bacteria) are a taxonomically heterogeneous group of bacteria of the phylum Pseudomonadota that cannot

catabolize Catabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy or used in other anabolic reactions. Catabolism breaks down large molecules (such as polysaccharides, lipids, ...

glucose, and are thus unable to

ferment Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

. This does not necessarily exclude that species can catabolize other sugars or have anaerobiosis like fermenting bacteria. The coccoid or bacillary bacteria can be found in soil or wet areas. They are non- sporulating bacteria and Gram-negative. Some species are also pathogenic for humans, so their detection (e.g. with analytical profile index 20 NE) has great relevance in the diagnosis of bacterial infections.

List of non-fermenters

* ''

Acinetobacter ''Acinetobacter'' is a genus of gram-negative bacteria belonging to the wider class of Gammaproteobacteria. ''Acinetobacter'' species are oxidase-negative, exhibit twitching motility, and occur in pairs under magnification. They are important ...

'' * ''

Alcaligenes ''Alcaligenes'' is a genus of Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria. The species are motile with amphitrichous flagella and rarely nonmotile. It is a genus of non-fermenting bacteria (in the family Alcaligenaceae). Additionally, some st ...

'' * ''

Bordetella ''Bordetella'' () is a genus of small (0.2 – 0.7 µm), gram-negative coccobacilli of the phylum Pseudomonadota. ''Bordetella'' species, with the exception of '' B. petrii'', are obligate aerobes, as well as highly fastidious, or difficult ...

'' * ''

Burkholderia ''Burkholderia'' is a genus of Pseudomonadota whose pathogenic members include the ''Burkholderia cepacia'' complex, which attacks humans and ''Burkholderia mallei'', responsible for glanders, a disease that occurs mostly in horses and related a ...

'' * ''

Legionella ''Legionella'' is a genus of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria that includes the species '' L. pneumophila'', causing legionellosis (all illnesses caused by ''Legionella'') including a pneumonia-type illness called Legionnaires' disease and a mil ...

'' * '' Moraxella'' * ''

Pseudomonas ''Pseudomonas'' is a genus of Gram-negative, Gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae and containing 191 described species. The members of the genus demonstrate a great deal of metabolic diversity and consequently are able to ...

'' *''

Shewanella ''Shewanella'' is the sole genus included in the marine bacteria family Shewanellaceae. Some species within it were formerly classed as '' Alteromonas''. ''Shewanella'' consists of facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods, most of which are fo ...

'' * '' Stenotrophomonas'' Also, pathogenic species include '' Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' and ''

Moraxella catarrhalis ''Moraxella catarrhalis'' is a fastidious, nonmotile, Gram-negative, aerobic, oxidase-positive diplococcus that can cause infections of the respiratory system, middle ear, eye, central nervous system, and joints of humans. It causes the infec ...

''.

References

*Kayser et al. (2005): ''Medical Microbiology''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Non-Fermenter Bacteriology