Aurantimonas coralicida

Aurantimonas coralicida is a gram-negative bacterium, and a causative agent of white plague in Caribbean corals. It is rod-shaped, with polar flagella.^[1]

Description[]

An obligate aerobe, A. coralicida obtains its nourishment chemoheterotrophically. It tests positive for oxidase and catalase, and contains carotenoid pigments, possibly to protect against solar radiation.^[1]

Role in Disease[]

A. coralicida is believed to be the causative agent of white plague, a disease of some corals.^[1] This was first described in 1995 in an epizootic in reefs in the Florida Keys. 17 of 43 coral species in the area were infected, and up to 38% of infected corals died.^[1]

Genetics[]

The type strain of A. coralicida is WP1^T(=CIP 107386^T =DSM 14790^T), which was the original strain isolated.^[1]

History[]

A coralicida was originally isolated as the cause of white plague in coral in the Caribbean in 1998.^[1] In 2003, the 16s rRNA sequence of the bacterium was compared to other known sequences to determine its taxonomic relationship to other bacteria. It was found to be a previously-undescribed member of the order Hyphomicrobiales and was classified under the newly created genus Aurantimonas as Aurantimonas coralicida.^[1]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Yossi Loya; Rosenberg, Eugene (2004). Coral Health and Disease. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-20772-4.

External links[]

• LPSN
• "Aurantimonas coralicida" at the Encyclopedia of Life
• WORMS entry
• Type strain of Aurantimonas coralicida at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase