Abstract
The eighth edition of Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (Buchanan and Gibbons, 1974) lists the genus Alcaligenes under “Genera of Uncertain Affiliation”. Although Alcaligenes faecalis was first isolated from stale beer by Petruschky (1889) and subsequently described by many others, its taxonomy is still uncertain and controversial. Furthermore, the role and nature of the genus Alcaligenes as a pathogen for man, animals, or plants are not understood. Because of the changing taxonomic status of the genus, the various methods proposed for isolation, and problems of identification, a comprehensive and valid analysis of this group of organisms since its initial description is virtually impossible. In fact, any reports of Alcaligenes in human disease in which the isolate was not tested for its inability to either oxidize or ferment carbohydrate substrates in oxidative-fermentative (OF) medium (Hugh and Leifson, 1953) should be discounted.
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Tilton, R.C. (1981). The Genus Alcaligenes . In: Starr, M.P., Stolp, H., Trüper, H.G., Balows, A., Schlegel, H.G. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-13187-9_69
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