Abiotrophia


Abiotrophia is a genus of lactic acid bacteria, a family in the phylum Firmicutes.

Species

The genus contains 4 species of coccus shaped species, 2 are former members of the genus Streptococcus, which were transferred in 1995 to the newly coined genus Abiotrophia:
Other 2 are latter additions:
In 2000, Collins and Lawsons further differentiated A. adiacens, A. balaenopterae and A. elegans from A. defectiva by placing them into the new genus Granulicatella.

Etymology

The name Abiotrophia derives from:
Greek prefix ἄ -, negative ; Greek noun βιος , life; Greek noun τροφιά , nutrition; New Latin feminine gender noun Abiotrophia, life-nutrition-deficiency.

Genome Sequence

For the Human Microbiome Project, the genome of Abiotrophia defectiva ATCC 49176 has been sequenced as it is a resident of human oral cavity and urogenital and intestinal tracts and is a cause of infective endocarditis.
showing it to have 3291 protein encoded in a 3.4774 Mbp genome with a GC content of 37.0%

Disease

Formerly classified as nutritionally variant streptococci, A. elegans had been identified as a cause of 1 to 2% of blood culture negative bacterial endocarditis.