Enterobacteriaceae

Enterobacteriaceae is a large <a href="/facts/Family_(biology)/qTrn6E8E">family</a> of <a href="/facts/Gram-negative_bacteria/S1PbVtp4">Gram-negative bacteria</a>. It includes over 30 genera and more than 100 species. Its classification above the level of <a href="/facts/Family_(taxonomy)/qTrn6E8E">family</a> is still a subject of debate, but one classification places it in the order Enterobacterales of the class <a href="/facts/Gammaproteobacteria/2ISNVT8r">Gammaproteobacteria</a> in the phylum <a href="/facts/Pseudomonadota/ggjeK6II">Pseudomonadota</a>. In 2016, the description and members of this family were emended based on comparative genomic analyses by Adeolu et al.
Enterobacteriaceae includes, along with many harmless <a href="/facts/Symbiosis/MrBArRGa">symbionts</a>, many of the more familiar <a href="/facts/Pathogenic_bacteria/X5QcVN5j">pathogens</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Salmonella/2SkCRybG">Salmonella</a>, <a href="/facts/Escherichia_coli/nR4Gvl56">Escherichia coli</a>, <a href="/facts/Klebsiella/mRzCFEfA">Klebsiella</a>, and <a href="/facts/Shigella/xKEXoT4w">Shigella</a>. Other disease-causing bacteria in this family include <a href="/facts/Enterobacter/MErC2JkH">Enterobacter</a> and <a href="/facts/Citrobacter/unF1RAJw">Citrobacter</a>. Members of the Enterobacteriaceae can be <a href="/facts/Bacterial_taxonomy/BDyUC7Bt">trivially</a> referred to as enterobacteria or "enteric bacteria", as several members live in the intestines of animals. In fact, the etymology of the family is enterobacterium with the suffix to designate a family (aceae)—not after the <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> <a href="/facts/Enterobacter/MErC2JkH">Enterobacter</a> (which would be "Enterobacteraceae")—and the type genus is <a href="/facts/Escherichia/ehBXfPgT">Escherichia</a>.

Enterobacteriaceae open-in-new

Enterobacteriaceae