Flavobacterium

A genus of aerobic to facultatively anaerobic, nonsporeforming, motile and nonmotile bacteria (family Achromobacteraceae) containing Gram-negative rods; motile cells are peritrichous. These organisms characteristically produce yellow, orange, red, or yellow-brown pigments. They are found in soil and fresh and salt water. Some species are pathogenic. The type species is F. aquatile. [L. flavus, yellow]

- F. aquatile a species found in water containing a high percentage of calcium carbonate; it is the type species of F..

- F. breve a species found in sewage; pathogenic for laboratory animals.

- F. meningisepticum among the normal flora of the human respiratory tract, this bacterial species is an occasional cause of nosocomial infection, including neonatal meningitis.

- F. piscicida former name for Pseudomonas piscicida.

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Fla·vo·bac·te·ri·um .flā-(.)vō-bak-'tir-ē-əm, .flav-(.)ō- n a genus of nonmotile aerobic gram-negative usu. rod-shaped bacteria found esp. in soil and water including one (F. meningosepticum) that is found as a contaminant in hospitals and is associated with meningitis and septicemia esp. in newborn infants

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Fla·vo·bac·te·ri·um (fla″vo-bak-tērґe-əm) [flavo- + bacterium] a genus of gram-negative, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria of the family Flavobacteriaceae, characterized by production of a yellow pigment. The organisms occur widely in soil and water, and are opportunistic pathogens in humans.