''Caulobacter'' is a genus of

Gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the Crystal violet, crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelo ...

in the class

Alphaproteobacteria ''Alphaproteobacteria'' or ''α-proteobacteria'', also called ''α-Purple bacteria'' in earlier literature, is a class of bacteria in the phylum '' Pseudomonadota'' (formerly "Proteobacteria"). The '' Magnetococcales'' and '' Mariprofundales'' ar ...

. Its best-known member is ''

Caulobacter crescentus ''Caulobacter crescentus'' is a Gram-negative, oligotrophic bacterium widely distributed in fresh water lakes and streams. The taxon is more properly known as ''Caulobacter vibrioides'' (Henrici and Johnson 1935). ''C. crescentus'' is an importa ...

'', an organism ubiquitous in freshwater lakes and rivers; many members of the genus are specialized to

oligotrophic An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates o ...

environments.

Interactions with other organisms

Pathogenicity

Although ''Caulobacter'' is not commonly appreciated as a cause of human diseases, ''Caulobacter'' isolates have been implicated in a number of cases of recurrent peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients. One study has identified the species ''C. crescentus'' and ''C. mirare'' as the cause of a disease of the moth ''

Galleria mellonella ''Galleria mellonella'', the greater wax moth or honeycomb moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. ''G. mellonella'' is found throughout the world. It is one of two species of wax moths, with the other being the lesser wax moth. ''G. mellonella' ...

''; the absence of identified distinct virulence factors in ''C. mirare'' may suggest that other ''Caulobacter'' species have pathogenic potential.

References

External links

* https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Caulobacter * https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Undef&id=75&lvl=3&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock {{Taxonbar, from=Q8342956 Caulobacterales