Taxonomy of Acinetobacter

The history of the oxidase-negative, non-motile, Gram-negative diplobacilli now constituting the genus Acinetobacter has been confused for many years (Henriksen, 1973, 1976). These bacteria were originally classified into various genera including “Bacterium”, Neisseria, Alcaligenes, “Mima”, “Herellea”, “Achromobacter” and Moraxella. For some time this group of bacteria was referred to as the oxidase-negative Moraxella. The application of modern methods of taxonomy, including carbon source utilisation tests, genetic transformation, DNA hybridisation, and rRNA sequence comparison (by hybridisation or direct sequencing), has now resolved the earlier confusion. Progress in Acinetobacter taxonomy has now provided a new insight into Acinetobacter ecology and epidemiology.