Acinetobacter

A genus of nonmotile, aerobic bacteria (family Moraxellaceae) containing Gram-negative or -variable coccoid or short rods, or cocci, often occurring in pairs. Spores are not produced. These bacteria grow on ordinary media without the addition of serum. They are oxidase-negative and catalase-positive; carbohydrates are oxidized or not attacked at all, and arginine dihydrolase is not produced. They are a frequent cause of nosocomial infections; often resistant to many antibiotics, they can also cause severe primary infections in immunocompromised people. The type species is A. calcoaceticus. SYN: Lingelsheimia.

- A. calcoaceticus a species of bacteria originally found in a quinate enrichment; strains of this organism previously identified as Bacterium anitratum were found in the genitourinary tract; it is the type species of the genus A.. SYN: Lingelsheimia anitrata.

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Ac·i·net·o·bac·ter (as″ĭ-net″o-bakґtər) [a-¹ + cineto- + -bacter] a genus of bacteria of the family Moraxellaceae, consisting of gram-negative, paired coccobacilli that are aerobic, catalase-positive, and oxidase-negative. The organisms are widely distributed in nature and are part of the normal mammalian flora, but can cause severe primary infections in compromised hosts. The type species is A. calcoaceґticus.