Enterobacter

En.te.ro.bac' ter . Gr. neut. n. enteron intestine; M.L. masc. n. bacter equivalent of bacterium, a small rod; M.L. masc. n. Enterobacter intestinal small rod. Proteobacteria / Gammaproteobacteria / Enterobacteriales / Enterobacteriaceae / Enterobacter Straight rods, 0.6–1.0 × 1.2–3.0 µm, conforming to the general definition of the family Enterobacteriaceae . Motile by peritrichous flagella (generally 4–6). Gram negative. Facultatively anaerobic . Growth occurs readily on ordinary media. Glucose is fermented with production of acid and gas (generally CO 2 :H 2 = 2:1). Gas is not produced from glucose at 44.5°C. Most strains give a positive Voges–Proskauer reaction and a negative methyl red test . An alkaline reaction occurs in Simmons citrate and malonate broth. Nitrate is reduced to nitrite. H 2 S is not produced from thiosulfate. Tetrathionate is not reduced. Corn oil and tributyrin are not hydrolyzed. Gelatin, DNA, and Tween 80 are either not, or very slowly, hydrolyzed . L ‐Arabinose, D ‐cellobiose, D ‐fructose, D ‐galactose, D ‐galacturonate, gentiobiose, D ‐gluconate, D ‐glucosamine, D ‐glucose, D ‐glucuronate, 2‐ketogluconate, L ‐malate, D ‐mannitol, D ‐mannose, D ‐trehalose, and D ‐xylose utilized by all or almost all strains, as sole source of carbon and energy. L ‐rhamnose utilized by all strains except Enterobacter asburiae . L ‐Arabitol, ethanolamine, itaconate, 3‐phenylpropionate, L ‐sorbose, D ‐tartrate, tryptamine, and xylitol are not utilized. meso ‐Erythritol, gentisate, glutarate, and tricarballylate not utilized except by some strains of Enterobacter gergoviae . D ‐melezitose not utilized except by some strains of Enterobacter sakazakii . Optimum temperature for growth is 30°C. Most clinical strains grow at 37°C; some environmental strains give erratic biochemical reactions at 37°C. Widely distributed in nature; common in man and animals. The mol % G + C of the DNA is : 52–60 (Bd). Type species : Enterobacter cloacae (Jordan 1890) Hormaeche and Edwards 1960b72. Nom. Cons. Opin. 28, Jud. Comm. 1963, 38 ( Bacillus cloacae Jordan 1890, 836.)