Paracoccus
Paracoccus bacteria are a soil microbe that can remove essential nutrients from the soil which can harm crop production. In addition, they can cause a range of infections in humans of all ages[1]
| Paracoccus | |
|---|---|
| Paracoccus yeei colonies | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota
|
| Class: | Alphaproteobacteria
|
| Order: | Rhodobacterales
|
| Family: | Rhodobacteracaea
|
| Genus: | Paracoccus
|
Appearance
Paracoccus bacteria (Paracocci) are gram negative (negative result on the gram stain) and circle shaped (known as a coccus). [2]Paracocci may also exist in pairs stuck together known as diplococci.
Classification
The genus Paracoccus is within the family Rhodobacteracaea and contains 31 species. The Rhodobacteracaea are within the order Rhodobacterales, in the class Alphaproteobacteria of phylum Pseudomonadota. Pseudomonadota is also sometimes referred to as Proteobacteria. [3]
Habitat
Paracocci can live in a very wide range of habitats both on land and in the water. These include soils, seawater, freshwater, and even inside humans. Paracoccus bacteria do not have any way of moving themselves so will just float in the direction of the current. [2]
Metabolism
Paracoccus bacteria are able to use a large variety of chemical compounds as energy. These include methanol and similar molecules, in addition to nitrogen rich molecules known as amines. [2]
Effect on humans
The effects of these bacteria on humans are as diverse as the environments the inhabit. When in the soil, Paracoccus bacteria have a denitrifying effect where they release NO3 from the soil. This is detrimental to humans as crop plants need NO3 so losing results in a reduction in nutrients. The other effect it has is that NO2, NO, and N2O are greenhouse gases, so their release from the soil can act to worsen climate change.[4]
Paracocci can also be the cause of skin, eye, ear, spine, blood, and wound (mostly on the feet or ankles) infections. However, they are considered low risk and are currently rare. [1]
Paracoccus bacteria can potentially be beneficial to humans too. Since they can consume and break down amines, they could be used to clean up human pollution which is often amines (bioremediation).[4]
History
The genus Paracoccus was first proposed by Diane Davis in 1969 when dividing the Hydrogenomonas genus into new genera. At the time it only contained two species. Since then, the genus has been expanded by adding 29 other species[5]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article/152/Supplement_1/S132/5567910?login=false
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-023-30858-1
- ↑ https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-642-30197-1_377
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35294092/
- ↑ https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/00207713-19-4-375