Erwinia

Abstract

er.win'i.a. N.L. fem. n. Erwinia , named after Erwin F. Smith. Proteobacteria / Gammaproteobacteria / Enterobacterales / Erwiniaceae / Erwinia Cells of the genus Erwinia are Gram‐stain‐negative rods, 0.5–1.0 × 1.0–3.0 μm, and occur alone or in pairs, sometimes in chains. Cells are motile by means of peritrichous flagella. They do not produce indole. They are mostly facultatively anaerobic, catalase‐positive, and oxidase‐ and urease‐negative. They utilize d ‐arabinose, fructose, fumarate, galactose, gluconate, glucose, glycerol, malate, β‐methyl‐glucoside, N‐ acetyl‐ d ‐glucosamine, ribose, trehalose, and succinate but not benzoate, butanol, l ‐fucose, glycogen, methanol, oxalate, propionate, or sorbose as the sole carbon sources. The major fatty acids are C 12:0 , C 14:0 , and C 16:0 . The known habitats are plants, where they cause vascular wilts and soft rots. They are also part of the epiphytic flora. They have also been isolated from insects and in one case from human skin. DNA G + C content (mol%) : 51.1–56.4%. Type species : Erwinia amylovora Winslow et al. 1920 AL (basonym: Micrococcus amylovorus Burrill 1882).