The Genus Citrobacter

Abstract

Members of the genus Citrobacter are Gram-negative, nonsporeforming rods belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae and, as the name suggests, usually utilize citrate as a sole carbon source. These facultative anaerobes typically are motile by means of peritrichous flagella. They ferment glucose and other carbohydrates with the production of acid and gas. They are oxidase negative, catalase and methyl red positive, Voges-Proskauer negative, and do not decarboxylate lysine. Taxonomically, the genus Citrobacter is most closely related to Salmonella and Escherichia.