Genus XXIII. Gelidibacter

• Main Author: Bowman, JP
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2011
• Subjects: Biological Sciences; Microbiology; Microbiology not elsewhere classified; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/book/978-0-387-95042-6; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/69015

The genus Gelidibacter is a member of the family Flavobacteriaceae .The first strains of the genus to be isolated were from severalAntarctic marine samples and the genus is most closely relatedto other Antarctic genera, including Subsaxibacter and Subsaximicrobium (Bowman and Nichols, 2005). The genus containsfour species: Gelidibacter algens , Gelidibacter gilvus , Gelidibactermesophilus , and Gelidibacter salicanalis . Gelidibacter species typically form pale to bright yellow colonieswith a mucoid consistency and with a spreading margin.The species are all active gliders. Gliding motility is best seenon nutrient-poor media or media containing utilizable carbohydrates.Cells appear usually as rods of highly variant lengthsfrom coccobacilli to filamentous cells up to 15-20 μm long.In ~Ider cultures, cells may degenerate into spheroplast-likebod~es approximately 1-2 μm in diameter. This feature isPartiCUlarly obvious in some strains of Gelidibacter algens .