What is "deltaproteobacteria"

n. (plural of deltaproteobacterium English)

Deltaproteobacteria is a class of Proteobacteria. All species of this group are, like all Proteobacteria, gram-negative.

The Deltaproteobacteria comprise a branch of predominantly aerobic genera, the fruiting-body-forming Myxobacteria which release myxospores in unfavorable environments, and a branch of strictly anaerobic genera, which contains most of the known sulfate- (Desulfovibrio, Desulfobacter, Desulfococcus, Desulfonema, etc.) and sulfur-reducing bacteria (e.g. Desulfuromonas spp.) alongside several other anaerobic bacteria with different physiology (e.g. ferric iron-reducing Geobacter spp. and syntrophic Pelobacter and Syntrophus spp.).

A pathogenic intracellular Deltaproteobacteria has recently been identified.