GRAM – ve BACTERIA:
Facultative Anaerobes (The Enteric Bacteria)
Enterobacteriaceae
The habitat for most of these is the intestines of some sort of animal. But many can be found in soil and on plant material. All are fermentative (facultative anaerobes)
Important genera:
Salmonella The most common cause of gastro enteritis in Australia and has over 2000 species one of which is particularly dangerous (S. typhi cause typhoid fever)
Shigella has a few species that cause gastroenteritis as well as a real baddy (S. dysenteriae that causes bacillary dysentery and is closely related to E. coli)
Yersinia has a gastro causing species and a real baddy (Y. pestis causes plague)
Klebsiella (fixes N2 and can cause pneumonia)
Serratia is used to look for faecal pollution in marine environments
Erwinia (live on plants - some plant pathogens)
Vibrio (vib = L. for whip mark), Has a different morphology and causes fish diseases and gastro in humans who eat raw fish.
Photobacterium (bioluminescent)
Aeromonas (includes fish pathogens).
Strict Aerobes
Pseudomonads
Pseudomonas - polar flagella and oxidase positive.
A very large genus that is now being broken up into many different genera.
Fluorescent Pseudomonads
P. putida
P. aeruginosa (flowers and burn patients)
These have fluorescent pigments are iron chelating compounds (siderophores)Campylobacter
and cause slime and discolouration of foods as well as putrid odours