''Metaplanococcus'' is a genus of Gram-Positive or Gram-variable, cocci or short rod-shaped bacteria in the family ''

Caryophanaceae The ''Caryophanaceae'' is a family of Gram-positive bacteria. In 2020, the now defunct family ''Planococcaceae'' was merged into ''Caryophanaceae'' to rectify a nomenclature anomaly. The type genus of this family is ''Caryophanon.'' The family ' ...

'' from the order Caryophanales''.'' The type species of this genus is ''Metaplanococcus flavidus.'' Members of ''Metaplanococcus'' are previously species belonging to ''Planococcus.'' Instead of branching with species from ''Planococcus'', this species and an unnamed ''Planomicrobium'' species formed a monophyletic branch in various phylogenetic trees constructed based on conserved genome sequences, indicating their phylogenetic relatedness. The family ''

'' encompassed many branching anomalies such as this one, partially due to the reliance on 16S rRNA sequences as a method for classification, which is known to have low resolution power and give differing results depending on the algorithm used. In 2020, a comparative genomic study emended the family, resulting in the establishment of three new genera, including ''Metaplanococcus''. The name ''Metaplanococcus'' is derived from the Greek adjective ''meta'', translating into "besides" and the Latin term ''Planococcus'', referring the genus name. Together, ''Metaplanococcus'' can be translated as a genus besides ''Planococcus''.

Biochemical Characteristics and Molecular Signatures

Members of this genus motile by means of a single polar flagellum. 17 conserved signature indels (CSIs) were identified through genomic analyses as uniquely present in this genus in the following proteins: ABC transporter substrate-binding protein, methionine–tRNA ligase, MetQ/NlpA family ABC transporter substrate-binding protein, ABC transporter permease, spore protease YyaC, N-acetyl-alpha-D-glucosaminyl-5′L-malate synthase BshA, orotidine-5-phosphate decarboxylase, and phospho-N-acetylmuramoyl-pentapeptide-transferase. These CSIs provide a reliable molecular means for distinguishing members of ''Metaplanococcus'' from other genera in the family ''Caryophanaceae'' and all other bacteria.

Taxonomy

''Metaplanococcus'', as of 2021, contains one species with a validly published name. This genus was identified as a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

clade and phylogenetically unrelated to other species in the family ''Caryophanaceae'' in studies examining the taxonomic relationships within the family.

References

{{reflist Bacillales Bacteria genera