 | ||||
SaprospiraRANK: GenusTAXONOMY: Bacteria -> Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi group -> Bacteroidetes -> Sphingobacteriia -> Sphingobacteriales -> Saprospiraceae -> Saprospira OVERVIEW: The following generic description is modified from Reichenbach (1 9 8 9). Helical filaments 10–500 μm long and 0.5–3 μm wide, multicellular, unbranched, without sheaths. Cells 1.5–3.5 μm in length. Gram-stain-negative. Non-flagellate. Move by gliding in either longitudinal direction at speeds up to 180 µm/min, simultaneously rotating around their long axes. Resting stages not known. Colonies on agar surfaces are spreading; they may exhibit a regular pattern of stripes. Strictly aerobic organotrophs requiring amino acids. Pigmentation is by carotenoids – pink, yellow, orange, or red. Aquatic, marine, or freshwater, on surfaces or in bottom sediments. DNA G+C content (mol%): 33–48 (Bd, Tm). Type species: Saprospira grandis |