Burkholderia

Burkholderia is a genus of Pseudomonadota whose pathogenic members include the Burkholderia cepacia complex, which attacks humans and plants; Burkholderia mallei, responsible for glanders, a disease that occurs mostly in horses and related animals; Burkholderia pseudomallei, causative agent of melioidosis; and Burkholderia cenocepacia, an important pathogen of pulmonary infections in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Burkholderia species is also found in marine environments. S.I. Paul et al. isolated and characterized Burkholderia cepacia from marine sponges of the Saint Martin's Island of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.

The Burkholderia (previously part of Pseudomonas) genus name refers to a group of virtually ubiquitous Gram-negative, obligately aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that are motile by means of single or multiple polar flagella, with the exception of Burkholderia mallei, which is nonmotile. Members belonging to the genus do not produce sheaths or prosthecae and are able to use poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) for growth. The genus includes both animal and plant pathogens, as well as some environmentally important species. In particular, B. xenovorans (previously named Pseudomonas cepacia then B. cepacia and B. fungorum) is renowned for being catalase positive (affecting patients with chronic granulomatous disease) and its ability to degrade chlororganic pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. The conserved RNA structure anti-hemB RNA motif is found in all known bacteria in this genus.