''Janibacter'' is a genus of

Gram positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. The Gram stain i ...

, nonmotile, non-sporeforming bacteria. The genus name is derived from the two-faced

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the Latin literature, literature and Roman art, visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these ...

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...

, referring to the fact that the cells of the original strain could be

rod-shaped Bacterial cellular morphologies are the shapes that are characteristic of various types of bacteria and often key to their identification. Their direct examination under a light microscope enables the classification of these bacteria (and archae ...

or coccoid. The type species of the genus, '' Janibacter limosus'', was originally isolated from sludge from a wastewater treatment plant. Other species have been isolated from an air sample, a

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

, the midgut of

mosquitoes Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by '' mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, ...

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

, sea sediment, and hydrothermal sediment. ''Janibacter brevis'' was originally classified as a separate species, but was later found to be a heterotypic synonym of ''J. terrae''. Colonies formed on agar by members of this genus are usually cream, white, or yellow pigmented. The optimum temperature for most ''Janibacter'' species is 28 °C. The lowest temperature required for growth in the genus is 4 °C (''J. terrae'', ''J. anophelis'', ''J. limosus''), and the highest is 45 °C (''J. terrae'', ''J. anophelis'', ''J. corallicola''). The pH optimum is commonly between 7.0 and 9.0, with some species capable of growing at 5.0-12.0. All species can tolerate NaCl salt concentrations up to 7%, but ''J. alkaliphilus'' can tolerate concentrations of 17%. ''J. hoylei'', which was recovered from high altitude air samples, is the most UV resistant. ''Janibacter'' species have been implicated in multiple cases of human infection, although most cases appeared to be opportunistic infections. An unnamed ''Janibacter'' species caused an infection in a man with

acute myeloid leukemia Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with haematopoiesis, normal blood cell production. Sympt ...

after receiving a

bone marrow transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce a ...

. ''J. melonis'' infected a man's face after being bitten by an unknown insect. ''J. terrae'' infected four

immunocompromised Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromise, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that affe ...

patients, resulting in two deaths, and also caused a psoas abscess that was difficult to diagnose due to the infrequency of ''Janibacter'' infections. An 8-week-old infant was found to be infected with ''J. hoylei'', but was successfully treated with

vancomycin Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic medication used to treat certain bacterial infections. It is administered intravenously ( injection into a vein) to treat complicated skin infections, bloodstream infections, endocarditis, bone an ...

. "''J. massiliensis''" was isolated from the vaginal discharge of a woman with bacterial vaginosis.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21217649 Intrasporangiaceae Bacteria genera