The Negativicutes are a
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
of
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
in the
phylum
In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature ...
Bacillota, whose members have a peculiar cell wall with a
lipopolysaccharide
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide that are bacterial toxins. They are composed of an O- antigen, an outer core, and an inner core all joined by a covalent bond, and are found in the out ...
outer membrane which stains
gram-negative
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 wa ...
, unlike most other members of the
Bacillota.
Although several neighbouring ''
Clostridia'' species (firmicute bacteria) also stain gram-negative, the proteins responsible for the unusual diderm structure of the ''Negativicutes'' may have actually been
laterally acquired from
Pseudomonadota
Pseudomonadota (synonym Proteobacteria) is a major phylum of Gram-negative bacteria. The renaming of phyla in 2021 remains controversial among microbiologists, many of whom continue to use the earlier names of long standing in the literature. Th ...
(formerly Proteobacteria).
Additional research is required to confirm the origin of the diderm cell envelope in the Negativicutes.
Most members of this class are
obligate anaerobe
Obligate anaerobes are microorganisms killed by normal atmospheric concentrations of oxygen (20.95% O2). Oxygen tolerance varies between species, with some species capable of surviving in up to 8% oxygen, while others lose viability in environme ...
s, and occur in habitats such as rivers, lakes, and the intestines of vertebrates. They range from spherical forms, such as ''Megasphaera'' and ''
Veillonella'', to curved rods, as typified by the
selenomonads. ''
Selenomonas
Members of the genus ''Selenomonas'' (motile crescent-shaped bacteria in general) are referred to trivially as selenomonads. The genus ''Selenomonas'' constitutes a group of motile crescent-shaped bacteria and includes species living in the gast ...
'' has a characteristic crescent shape, with flagella inserted on the concave side, while ''Sporomusa'' is similar, but nonmotile. Their names refer to this distinctive morphology: ''
selene
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of ...
'' means moon, and ''musa'' means
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
.
Taxonomy
The class currently consists of 32 validly named genera across three orders and four families.
The orders
Veillonellales and
Acidaminococcales each contain a single family,
Veillonellaceae and
Acidaminococcaceae
The Negativicutes are a class of bacteria in the phylum Bacillota, whose members have a peculiar cell wall with a lipopolysaccharide outer membrane which stains gram-negative, unlike most other members of the Bacillota. Although several neighbou ...
, respectively, while the order
Selenomonadales contains two families, Selenomonadaceae and Sporomusaceae.
Molecular signatures
Historically, the Negativicutes consisted of a single order, the Selenomonadales, and two families, Veillonellaceae and Acidaminococcaceae based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity.
[Ludwig W, Schleifer K-H, Whitman, WB (2009) Revised road map to the phylum Firmicutes. In: Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, vol. 3, 2nd edn. pp. 1–13. Eds P. De Vos, G. M. Garrity, D. Jones, N. R. Krieg, W. Ludwig, F. A. Rainey, K. H. Schleifer & W. B. Whitman Springer-: New York.][ However, these groupings did not include several members within the Negativicutes that branched outside of the two families. The current taxonomic view is inclusive of these members who have been validly assigned to the families Selenomonadaceae and Sporomusaceae within the emended Selenomonadales order.][Merchandin H, Jumas-Bilak E (2014) The family Veillonellaceae. In: The Prokaryotes, vol. 7, 4th edn. pp. 433–453. Eds E. Rosenberg, E. DeLong, S. Lory, E. Stackebrandt & F. Thompson Springer-: Berlin, Heidelberg.]
Phylogeny
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature
List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is an online database that maintains information on the nomenclature, naming and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of prokaryotes, following the taxonomy requirements and rulings of the In ...
(LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. Th ...
(NCBI)
See also
* List of bacterial orders
* List of bacteria genera
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q623144
Bacteria classes