Reclassification of salt-water Bdellovibrio sp. as Bacteriovorax marinus sp. nov. and Bacteriovorax litoralis sp. nov.

Bdellovibrios are unique, predatory bacteria with an intraperiplasmic growth and multiplication phase within their prey, which consists of many Gram-negative bacteria. Until recently, all bacteria that exhibited these traits were included in the genus Bdellovibrio. However, analysis of 16S rDNA sequences and other studies have demonstrated substantial genotypic, phenotypic and ecotypic diversity among the organisms in this genus (Baer et al.

16S rDNA sequence analysis of environmental Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms (BALO) reveals extensive diversity.

Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms (BALO) are Gram-negative, predatory bacteria that inhabit terrestrial, freshwater and salt-water environments. Historically, these organisms have been classified together despite documented genetic differences between isolates. The genetic diversity of these microbes was assessed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene.