With the advent of genomics, nomenclature changes now appear more frequently. At the time of this writing, currently accepted nomenclature has been used, with recent changes noted in the text.
The following commonly encountered anaerobic bacteria genera (along with a few significant species) will be discussed in this topic section:
- Actinomyces
- Bacteroides
- Bifidobacterium
- Clostridium
- Cutibacterium (formerly known as Propionibacterium)
- Fusobacterium
- Peptostreptococcus
- Porphyromonas
- Prevotella
- Veillonella
The basic Gram stain reaction and specific information unique to the genus (and only a few notable species) are provided. In this topic section, all Gram stain images imply the use of oil immersion magnification. Specific identification methods are discussed in a later topic section.
Several useful references are helpful when identifying anaerobes. One such (online) reference is the
Erasmus MC: Bacteria from the University of Rotterdam website.
Of course, many other medically important anaerobic bacteria exist but will not be discussed in this basic module. Note: Members of Campylobacter are considered microaerophilic (and thought of by some as "partially anaerobic") are not discussed.
