What is "francisella"

Francisella is a genus of pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria. They are small coccobacillary or rod-shaped, non motile organisms, which are also facultative intracellular parasites of macrophages. Strict aerobes, Francisella colonies bear a morphological resemblance to those of the genus Brucella.

The genus was named in honor of American bacteriologist Edward Francis, who, in 1922, first recognized F. tularensis (then named Bacterium tularensis) as the causative agent of tularemia.