Aerococcus, from Ancient Greek (aá¸Âr), meaning "air", and (kókkos), meaning "grain", is a genus of bacterium in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria). The genus was first identified in 1953 from samples of air and dust as a catalase-negative, gram-positive coccus that grew in small clusters. They were subsequently found in hospital environments and meat-curing brines. It has been difficult to identify as it resembles alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus on blood agar plates and is difficult to identify by biochemical means. Sequencing of 16S rRNA has become the gold standard for identification, but other techniques such as MALDI-TOF have also been useful for identifying both the genus and species.
Etymology
The name Aerococcus derives from Ancient Greek (aá¸Âr), meaning "air", and (kókkos), meaning "grain". The name was given based on its round shape and that it was first discovered in air samples.
Species
The genus contains these species:
- A. agrisoli <small>Sun et al., 2023</small> (from Latin *ager* âÂÂfield, farmâ + *solum* âÂÂsoil,â âÂÂof farmland soilâÂÂ)
- A. christensenii <small>Collins et al., 1999</small>, named after Danish microbiologist Jens J. Christensen
- A. kribbianus <small>Bai et al., 2024</small> (honours KRIBB, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology)
- A. loyolae <small>Choi et al., 2023</small> (from Latin gen. *loyolae*, âÂÂof Loyola,â referring to Loyola University Chicago, site of isolation)
- A. mictus <small>Choi et al., 2023</small> (Latin gen. *mictus*, âÂÂof urinating,â from human urine, first source)
- A. sanguinicola <small>Lawson et al., 2001</small> (from the Latin for âÂÂblood-dwellerâÂÂ)
- A. suis <small>Vela et al., 2007</small> (Latin âÂÂof a hogâÂÂ)
- A. tenax <small>Choi et al., 2023</small> (Latin masc. adj. *tenax*, âÂÂtenacious,â referring to strong biofilm behaviour)
- A. urinae <small>Aguirre & Collins, 1992</small> (Latin âÂÂof urineâÂÂ)
- A. urinaeequi <small>(Garvie 1988) Felis et al., 2005</small> (Latin âÂÂof horse urineâÂÂ)
- A. urinaehominis <small>Lawson et al., 2001</small> (Latin âÂÂof human urineâÂÂ)
- A. vaginalis <small>Tohno et al., 2014</small> (Latin *vaginalis*, âÂÂpertaining to the vaginaâÂÂ)
- A. viridans <small>Williams et al., 1953</small>âÂÂtype species (Latin âÂÂmaking greenâÂÂ); causative agent of gaffkaemia in lobsters.
See also
References