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OxalicibacteriumRANK: GenusTAXONOMY: cellular organisms -> Bacteria -> Proteobacteria -> Betaproteobacteria -> Burkholderiales -> Oxalobacteraceae -> Oxalicibacterium OVERVIEW: Straight or curved to vibrioid, Gram-negative, nonsporeforming rods 0.4–0.6 × 1.0–2.5 μm in length. Flagella may be present or absent. Strictly anaerobic. Chemoorganotroph. Oxalate is used as the major carbon and energy source. Oxamate may also be used, but neither carbohydrates nor any of a wide variety of other compounds will replace oxalate as the growth substrate. Acetate is assimilated for cell synthesis and is required by some, and perhaps by all, strains. Oxalate utilization is accompanied by alkalization of the medium, and formate is produced in approximately equimolar proportions to the amount of oxalate metabolized. Strains have been isolated from the rumens of cattle and sheep, from cecal and fecal samples from humans, guinea pigs, swine, domestic and wild rats, and from freshwater lake and marine sediments. It is probable that these bacteria colonize many other anaerobic habitats. Oxalobacter is currently classified in the class Betaproteobacteria, the order Burkholderiales, and the family Oxalobacteraceae. The mol% G + C of the DNA is: 48–52. Type species: Oxalobacter formigenes |