The Actinomycetota are a diverse phylum of Gram-positive bacteria with high G+C content. They can be terrestrial or aquatic. They are of great economic importance to humans because agriculture and forests depend on their contributions to soil systems. In soil they help to decompose the organic matter of dead organisms so the molecules can be taken up anew by plants. While this role is also played by fungi, Actinomycetota are much smaller and likely do not occupy the same ecological niche. In this role the colonies often grow extensive mycelia, like a fungus would, and the name of an important order of the phylum, Actinomycetales, reflects that they were long believed to be fungi. Some soil actinomycetota live symbiotically with the plants whose roots pervade the soil, fixing nitrogen for the plants in exchange for access to some of the plant's saccharides. Other species, such as many members of the genus Mycobacterium, are important pathogens.
The Actinomycetales is an order of Actinomycetota. A member of the order is often called an actinomycete. Actinomycetales are generally gram-positive and anaerobic and have mycelia in a filamentous and branching growth pattern. Some actinomycetes can form rod- or coccoid-shaped forms, while others can form spores on aerial hyphae. Actinomycetales bacteria can be infected by bacteriophages, which are called actinophages. Actinomycetales can range from harmless bacteria to pathogens with resistance to antibiotics.
Shigella boydii is a Gram-negative bacterium of the genus Shigella. Like other members of the genus, S. boydii is a nonmotile, nonsporeforming, rod-shaped bacterium which can cause dysentery in humans through fecal-oral contamination.
Desulfosporosinus is a genus of strictly anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacteria, often found in soil.
Streptomyces acidiscabies is a streptomycete bacterium species, causing a scab disease of potatoes. Its type strain is RL-110.
Mesorhizobium amorphae is a species of root nodule bacteria first isolated from Amorpha fruticosa species in China. It is purported to be native to American soil. Its genome has been sequenced. Its type strain is ACCC 19665.
Alcanivorax dieselolei is a species of alkane-degrading bacteria. Its genome has been sequenced. It is halophilic, aerobic, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, catalase- and oxidase-positive, motile and rod-shaped. Its type strain is B-5T.
Alcanivorax pacificus is a pyrene-degrading marine gammaproteobacterium. It is of the genus Alcanivorax, a group of marine bacteria known for degrading hydrocarbons. When originally proposed, the genus Alcanivorax comprised six distinguishable species. However, A. pacificus, a seventh strain, was isolated from deep sea sediments in the West Pacific Ocean by Shanghai Majorbio Bio-pharm Technology Co., Ltd. in 2011. A. pacificus’s ability to degrade hydrocarbons can be employed for cleaning up oil-contaminated oceans through bioremediation. The genomic differences present in this strain of Alcanivorax that distinguish it from the original consortium are important to understand to better utilize this bacteria for bioremediation.
Pedobacter arcticus is a species of facultative psychrophile bacteria isolated from Arctic soil. It is gram-negative, short rod-shaped and motile, with type strain A12(T). Its genome has been sequenced.
Micromonospora lupini is an endophytic actinomycete notable for producing antitumour anthraquinones: lupinacidins A (1), B (2) and C. Its genome has been sequenced.
Streptomyces antibioticus is a gram-positive bacterium discovered in 1941 by Nobel-prize-winner Selman Waksman and H. Boyd Woodruff. Its name is derived from the Greek "strepto-" meaning "twisted", alluding to this genus' chain-like spore production, and "antibioticus", referring to this species' extensive antibiotic production. Upon its first characterization, it was noted that S. antibioticus produces a distinct soil odor.
Streptomyces auratus is a bacterium species from the genus Streptomyces. Streptomyces auratus produces neophoslactomycin A, lysolipins I and lysolipins X.
Streptomyces bottropensis is a bacterium species from the genus Streptomyces which has been isolated from soil. Streptomyces bottropensis produces bottromycin, dunaimycin and mensacarcin. Streptomyces bottropensis can metabolize (+)-carvone to (+)-bottrospicatol.
Streptomyces griseoaurantiacus is a thermotolerant bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which was isolated from marine sediment. Streptomyces griseoaurantiacus produces the antibiotics manumycin, diperamycin and chinikomycin, and griseolic acid.
Streptomyces somaliensis is a proteolytic bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from a mycetoma from the foot of a man in Somalia. Streptomyces somaliensis is a human pathogen and can cause actinomycosis.
Streptomyces tsukubensis is a bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from soil in Ibaraki in Japan. Streptomyces tsukubensis produces the immunosuppressant tacrolimus.
Streptomyces xinghaiensis is a bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from marine sediments from Xinghai Bay near Dalian in China.
Streptomyces zinciresistens is a filamentous bacterium species from the genus of Streptomyces which has been isolated from a copper and zinc mine in the Shaanxi province in China. Streptomyces zinciresistens is resistant against zinc.
Micromonospora maris is a Gram-positive bacterium from the genus Micromonospora which has been isolated from deep-sea sediments from the Sea of Japan. Verrucosispora maris produces abyssomicins and proximicins.
Gordonia neofelifaecis is a bacterium from the genus Gordonia which has been isolated from faeces from the leopard in the Sichuan Province in China.
