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Raoultella

Raoultella
Raoultella planticola
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Pseudomonadota
Class:	Gammaproteobacteria
Order:	Enterobacterales
Family:	Enterobacteriaceae
Genus:	Raoultella Drancourt et al., 2001
Species
Raoultella electrica Raoultella ornithinolytica Raoultella planticola Raoultella terrigena

The genus Raoultella is composed of Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, aerobic, nonmotile, capsulated, facultatively anaerobic rods (formerly designated Klebsiella) in the family Enterobacteriaceae. It is named after the French bacteriologist Didier Raoult.^[1][2][3] The existence of this genus renders the genus Klebsiella paraphyletic, and it has been repeatedly proposed to consider Raoultella a junior synonym of Klebsiella.

Members of genus Raoultella grow at 10 °C consistent with their recovery from plants, soil, and water, whereas members of Klebsiella do not grow at 10 °C^[4] and are mainly recovered from mammals' mucosae. Klebsiella oxytoca is an exception, and a proposal to classify K. oxytoca in a separate, unnamed genus has been made.^[5]

It consists of species Raoultella electrica, Raoultella ornithinolytica, Raoultella planticola and Raoultella terrigena.^[6]

In human infections, Raoultella species are generally sensitive to treatment with carbapenems. In one series, 92% were sensitive to ciprofloxacin. More than 10% produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases.^[7]

Type species for this genus are:

• Raoultella electrica 1GB^T[8][9]
• Raoultella ornithinolytica ATCC 31898^T[1][10]
• Raoultella planticola ATCC 33531^T[1][11]
• Raoultella terrigena ATCC 33257^T[1][12]

A phylogenetic tree of Klebsiella, based on a 2.93-Mbp alignment, unambiguously places R. ornithinolytica sister to K. oxytoca within the larger Klebsiella phylogeny and suggests abandoning the genus Raoultella designation.^[13]

Robust phylogenetic analyses have repeatedly shown that species classified into this genus are nested in the genus Klebsiella, indicating Raoultella should be abandoned and considered a junior synonym of Klebsiella.^{[14][15][16][17]}

In November 2021, the synonym Klebsiella electrica is reported "not validly published".^[18] The correct name with a valid nomenclatural status is Raoultella electrica.^[9]