{"history":[],"article":{"id":"17e74a3a-afde-4604-8562-0ba9f9672eb6","title":"Massilia (bacterium)","slug":"massilia-bacterium","content":":::summary\n**Domain:** [Bacteria](https://bliptext.com/articles/bacteria) \n**Phylum:** [Pseudomonadota](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudomonadota) \n**Classis:** [Betaproteobacteria](https://bliptext.com/articles/betaproteobacteria) \n**Ordo:** [Burkholderiales](https://bliptext.com/articles/burkholderiales) \n**Familia:** [Oxalobacteraceae](https://bliptext.com/articles/oxalobacteraceae) \n**Genus:** Massilia \n**Genus Authority:** La Scola et al. 2000 \n**Subdivision Ranks:** Species \n**Subdivision:** [Massilia aerilata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-aerilata)
· [Massilia albidiflava](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-albidiflava)
· [Massilia alkalitolerans](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-alkalitolerans)
· [Massilia aurea](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-aurea)
· [Massilia arvi](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-arvi)
· [Massilia brevitalea](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-brevitalea)
· [Massilia consociata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-consociata)
· [Massilia dura](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-dura)
· [Massilia eurypsychrophila](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-eurypsychrophila)
· [Massilia haematophila](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-haematophila)
· [Massilia jejuensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-jejuensis)
· [Massilia kyonggiensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-kyonggiensis)
· [Massilia lurida](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-lurida)
· [Massilia lutea](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-lutea)
· [Massilia niabensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-niabensis)
· [Massilia niastensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-niastensis)
· [Massilia norwichensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-norwichensis)
· [Massilia oculi](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-oculi)
· [Massilia plicata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-plicata)
· [Massilia putida](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-putida)
· [Massilia soli](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-soli)
· [Massilia suwonensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-suwonensis)
· [Massilia tieshanensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-tieshanensis)
· [Massilia umbonata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-umbonata)
· [Massilia cf. timonae](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-cf-timonae)
· [Massilia timonae](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-timonae)
· [Massilia varians](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-varians)
· [Massilia yuzhufengensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-yuzhufengensis)
\n:::\n\n# \nThe genus **Massilia** is an outdated genus name of bacteria within the family [Oxalobacteriaceae](https://bliptext.com/articles/oxalobacteraceae).\nAll Massilia species were reclassified in 2023 into one of the following genera: [Duganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/duganella), [Pseudoduganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudoduganella), [Janthinobacterium](https://bliptext.com/articles/janthinobacterium), [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria), [Rugamonas](https://bliptext.com/articles/rugamonas), [Mokoshia](https://bliptext.com/articles/mokoshia), or ''[Zemynaea](https://bliptext.com/articles/zemynaea).\n''\nThey may contain either [peritrichous](https://bliptext.com/articles/flagellum) or [polar flagella](https://bliptext.com/articles/flagellum).\nThis genus was first described in 1998, after the type species, [Massilia timonae](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-timonae), was isolated from the blood of an immunocompromised patient.\nThe genus was named after the old Greek and Roman name for the city of [Marseille](https://bliptext.com/articles/marseille), France, where the organism was first isolated.\nHowever, [16S rRNA](https://bliptext.com/articles/16s-ribosomal-rna)-based [phylogenetic trees](https://bliptext.com/articles/phylogenetic-tree) in 2023 determined that many Massilia species actually belong within the [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria) genus, which was validly published first, having [nomenclatural priority](https://bliptext.com/articles/principle-of-priority).\nMassilia are a diverse group that reside in many different environments, have many [heterotrophic](https://bliptext.com/articles/heterotroph) means of gathering energy, and are commonly found in association with plants.\n# [Violacein-producing Massilia growing on a petri plate | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Violacein-producing///Massilia///growing///on///a///petri///plate.jpg]\n\n# Culture of Massilia\nIsolation of Massilia sp.\ncommonly occurs on [Reasoner's 2A (R2A) agar](https://bliptext.com/articles/r2a-agar).\nColonies are often shades of white, yellow, or orange, but may be blue-purple if producing the compound [violacein](https://bliptext.com/articles/violacein).\n\n# Phylogeny\nMembers of the genus Massilia have been re-classified into other genera as of 2023 using [16S rRNA](https://bliptext.com/articles/16s-ribosomal-rna)-based [phylogenetic trees.](https://bliptext.com/articles/phylogenetic-tree) Originally, the Massilia genus existed within a [polyphyletic](https://bliptext.com/articles/polyphyly) group of the Oxalobacteriaceae, alongside other genera including [Duganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/duganella), [Pseudoduganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudoduganella), [Janthinobacterium](https://bliptext.com/articles/janthinobacterium), [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria), and [Rugamonas](https://bliptext.com/articles/rugamonas). In 2023, it was discovered that the [type species](https://bliptext.com/articles/type-species) of the genus, [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria) mixta, had [nomenclatural priority](https://bliptext.com/articles/principle-of-priority) over the name \"Massilia\", having been validly published first.\nThus, all isolated Massilia species have been reclassified into the following genera: [Duganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/duganella), [Pseudoduganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudoduganella), [Janthinobacterium](https://bliptext.com/articles/janthinobacterium), [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria), [Rugamonas](https://bliptext.com/articles/rugamonas), or the novel genera [Mokoshia](https://bliptext.com/articles/mokoshia) and ''[Zemynaea](https://bliptext.com/articles/zemynaea).\n''\n\n# Habitats\nMassilia sp.\nare environmental organisms that are commonly associated with plants.\nThey have been isolated from the soil, flowers, seeds, and roots of many species of plants.\nThey are generally [psychrophilic](https://bliptext.com/articles/psychrophile) or [mesophilic](https://bliptext.com/articles/mesophile), preferring cool to moderate temperatures, and they are generally either strict aerobes or microaerophiles.\nMassilia are proficient at surface colonization, including the seed coat, emerging radicles, roots, and even the hyphae of Pythium.\nMassilia have been isolated from other, sometimes extreme, environments as well, including the [Sahara Desert](https://bliptext.com/articles/sahara), freshwater, glaciers, rocks, and air samples.\nManganese-oxidizing Massilia have been isolated.\nIn rare cases, some Massilia sp.\nhave caused infections in humans.\nHowever, doctors presume that these infections were likely [opportunistic](https://bliptext.com/articles/opportunistic-infection), as Massilia sp.\nare generally considered environmental organisms, rather than animal-associated.\n\n# Metabolism\n\n## Complex polymer degradation\nSome Massilia sp.\nare able to degrade [cellulose](https://bliptext.com/articles/cellulose) or [chitin](https://bliptext.com/articles/chitin), two naturally occurring carbohydrate polymers, using [cellulase](https://bliptext.com/articles/cellulase) and endo[chitin](https://bliptext.com/articles/chitin)ase enzymes, respectively.\nMany Massilia produce extracellular [proteases](https://bliptext.com/articles/protease), which can degrade proteins, producing carbon and nitrogen for the organism to consume, Massilia have also been reported to hydrolyse gelatin, casein, starch, DNA, tyrosine, and more.\nMassilia may play a crucial role in [carbon cycling](https://bliptext.com/articles/carbon-cycle) due to their broad range of degradative enzymes,\nMassilia also have the potential to degrade many pollutants present in the environment.\nMassilia sp.\nWF1 was able to degrade the [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon](https://bliptext.com/articles/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbon) [phenanthrene](https://bliptext.com/articles/phenanthrene), each when alone and when in co-culture with the fungal species [Phanerochaete chrysosporium](https://bliptext.com/articles/phanerochaete).\n\n## Plant-growth-promoting traits\nSome Massilia sp. are capable of phosphorus solubilization in the soil.\nPhosphorus solubilization allows plants to take in more phosphorus, potentially promoting plant growth.\nAnalysis of Massilia genomes has identified genes for producing [auxins](https://bliptext.com/articles/auxin), plant hormones, which can promote or alter plant growth.\nTheir hydrolysis of extracellular compounds, such as proteins or DNA, can also release nutrients for the plant or other bacteria to utilize.\n[Antibiotic](https://bliptext.com/articles/antibiotic) production is found in a few Massilia isolates, though many of these antibiotic compounds have not been identified.\nMassilia rhizosphaerae has antibacterial activity against the plant pathogen [Ralstonia solanacearum](https://bliptext.com/articles/ralstonia-solanacearum). Massilia antibiotica has antibacterial activity against the pathogens [Escherichia coli](https://bliptext.com/articles/escherichia-coli) and [Pseudomonas aeruginosa](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudomonas-aeruginosa).\n\n## Quorum-regulated traits\nSome Massilia sp. are known to produce [violacein](https://bliptext.com/articles/violacein), a pigment also prouduced by [Chromobacterium violaceum](https://bliptext.com/articles/chromobacterium-violaceum). This produces blue-purple pigmented colonies.\nViolacein production is regulated by [quorum-sensing](https://bliptext.com/articles/quorum-sensing).\na mechanism by which bacteria alter their gene expression in response to the population density.","current_revision":null,"created_by":"kACnuQmH5k9Nr5VNVEpVeg7XpvUmMctD","created_at":"2025-01-26T11:52:58.763Z","updated_at":"2025-01-26T11:52:58.763Z","search_vector":"'bacterium':2 'massilia':1","search_content":" \n**Domain:** [Bacteria](https://bliptext.com/articles/bacteria) \n**Phylum:** [Pseudomonadota](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudomonadota) \n**Classis:** [Betaproteobacteria](https://bliptext.com/articles/betaproteobacteria) \n**Ordo:** [Burkholderiales](https://bliptext.com/articles/burkholderiales) \n**Familia:** [Oxalobacteraceae](https://bliptext.com/articles/oxalobacteraceae) \n**Genus:** Massilia \n**Genus Authority:** La Scola et al. 2000 \n**Subdivision Ranks:** Species \n**Subdivision:** [Massilia aerilata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-aerilata) · [Massilia albidiflava](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-albidiflava) · [Massilia alkalitolerans](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-alkalitolerans) · [Massilia aurea](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-aurea) · [Massilia arvi](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-arvi) · [Massilia brevitalea](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-brevitalea) · [Massilia consociata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-consociata) · [Massilia dura](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-dura) · [Massilia eurypsychrophila](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-eurypsychrophila) · [Massilia haematophila](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-haematophila) · [Massilia jejuensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-jejuensis) · [Massilia kyonggiensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-kyonggiensis) · [Massilia lurida](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-lurida) · [Massilia lutea](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-lutea) · [Massilia niabensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-niabensis) · [Massilia niastensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-niastensis) · [Massilia norwichensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-norwichensis) · [Massilia oculi](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-oculi) · [Massilia plicata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-plicata) · [Massilia putida](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-putida) · [Massilia soli](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-soli) · [Massilia suwonensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-suwonensis) · [Massilia tieshanensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-tieshanensis) · [Massilia umbonata](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-umbonata) · [Massilia cf. timonae](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-cf-timonae) · [Massilia timonae](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-timonae) · [Massilia varians](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-varians) · [Massilia yuzhufengensis](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-yuzhufengensis) \n \n\n# \nThe genus **Massilia** is an outdated genus name of bacteria within the family [Oxalobacteriaceae](https://bliptext.com/articles/oxalobacteraceae).\nAll Massilia species were reclassified in 2023 into one of the following genera: [Duganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/duganella), [Pseudoduganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudoduganella), [Janthinobacterium](https://bliptext.com/articles/janthinobacterium), [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria), [Rugamonas](https://bliptext.com/articles/rugamonas), [Mokoshia](https://bliptext.com/articles/mokoshia), or ''[Zemynaea](https://bliptext.com/articles/zemynaea).\n''\nThey may contain either [peritrichous](https://bliptext.com/articles/flagellum) or [polar flagella](https://bliptext.com/articles/flagellum).\nThis genus was first described in 1998, after the type species, [Massilia timonae](https://bliptext.com/articles/massilia-timonae), was isolated from the blood of an immunocompromised patient.\nThe genus was named after the old Greek and Roman name for the city of [Marseille](https://bliptext.com/articles/marseille), France, where the organism was first isolated.\nHowever, [16S rRNA](https://bliptext.com/articles/16s-ribosomal-rna)-based [phylogenetic trees](https://bliptext.com/articles/phylogenetic-tree) in 2023 determined that many Massilia species actually belong within the [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria) genus, which was validly published first, having [nomenclatural priority](https://bliptext.com/articles/principle-of-priority).\nMassilia are a diverse group that reside in many different environments, have many [heterotrophic](https://bliptext.com/articles/heterotroph) means of gathering energy, and are commonly found in association with plants.\n# [Violacein-producing Massilia growing on a petri plate | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Violacein-producing///Massilia///growing///on///a///petri///plate.jpg]\n\n# Culture of Massilia\nIsolation of Massilia sp.\ncommonly occurs on [Reasoner's 2A (R2A) agar](https://bliptext.com/articles/r2a-agar).\nColonies are often shades of white, yellow, or orange, but may be blue-purple if producing the compound [violacein](https://bliptext.com/articles/violacein).\n\n# Phylogeny\nMembers of the genus Massilia have been re-classified into other genera as of 2023 using [16S rRNA](https://bliptext.com/articles/16s-ribosomal-rna)-based [phylogenetic trees.](https://bliptext.com/articles/phylogenetic-tree) Originally, the Massilia genus existed within a [polyphyletic](https://bliptext.com/articles/polyphyly) group of the Oxalobacteriaceae, alongside other genera including [Duganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/duganella), [Pseudoduganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudoduganella), [Janthinobacterium](https://bliptext.com/articles/janthinobacterium), [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria), and [Rugamonas](https://bliptext.com/articles/rugamonas). In 2023, it was discovered that the [type species](https://bliptext.com/articles/type-species) of the genus, [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria) mixta, had [nomenclatural priority](https://bliptext.com/articles/principle-of-priority) over the name \"Massilia\", having been validly published first.\nThus, all isolated Massilia species have been reclassified into the following genera: [Duganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/duganella), [Pseudoduganella](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudoduganella), [Janthinobacterium](https://bliptext.com/articles/janthinobacterium), [Telluria](https://bliptext.com/articles/telluria), [Rugamonas](https://bliptext.com/articles/rugamonas), or the novel genera [Mokoshia](https://bliptext.com/articles/mokoshia) and ''[Zemynaea](https://bliptext.com/articles/zemynaea).\n''\n\n# Habitats\nMassilia sp.\nare environmental organisms that are commonly associated with plants.\nThey have been isolated from the soil, flowers, seeds, and roots of many species of plants.\nThey are generally [psychrophilic](https://bliptext.com/articles/psychrophile) or [mesophilic](https://bliptext.com/articles/mesophile), preferring cool to moderate temperatures, and they are generally either strict aerobes or microaerophiles.\nMassilia are proficient at surface colonization, including the seed coat, emerging radicles, roots, and even the hyphae of Pythium.\nMassilia have been isolated from other, sometimes extreme, environments as well, including the [Sahara Desert](https://bliptext.com/articles/sahara), freshwater, glaciers, rocks, and air samples.\nManganese-oxidizing Massilia have been isolated.\nIn rare cases, some Massilia sp.\nhave caused infections in humans.\nHowever, doctors presume that these infections were likely [opportunistic](https://bliptext.com/articles/opportunistic-infection), as Massilia sp.\nare generally considered environmental organisms, rather than animal-associated.\n\n# Metabolism\n\n## Complex polymer degradation\nSome Massilia sp.\nare able to degrade [cellulose](https://bliptext.com/articles/cellulose) or [chitin](https://bliptext.com/articles/chitin), two naturally occurring carbohydrate polymers, using [cellulase](https://bliptext.com/articles/cellulase) and endo[chitin](https://bliptext.com/articles/chitin)ase enzymes, respectively.\nMany Massilia produce extracellular [proteases](https://bliptext.com/articles/protease), which can degrade proteins, producing carbon and nitrogen for the organism to consume, Massilia have also been reported to hydrolyse gelatin, casein, starch, DNA, tyrosine, and more.\nMassilia may play a crucial role in [carbon cycling](https://bliptext.com/articles/carbon-cycle) due to their broad range of degradative enzymes,\nMassilia also have the potential to degrade many pollutants present in the environment.\nMassilia sp.\nWF1 was able to degrade the [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon](https://bliptext.com/articles/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbon) [phenanthrene](https://bliptext.com/articles/phenanthrene), each when alone and when in co-culture with the fungal species [Phanerochaete chrysosporium](https://bliptext.com/articles/phanerochaete).\n\n## Plant-growth-promoting traits\nSome Massilia sp. are capable of phosphorus solubilization in the soil.\nPhosphorus solubilization allows plants to take in more phosphorus, potentially promoting plant growth.\nAnalysis of Massilia genomes has identified genes for producing [auxins](https://bliptext.com/articles/auxin), plant hormones, which can promote or alter plant growth.\nTheir hydrolysis of extracellular compounds, such as proteins or DNA, can also release nutrients for the plant or other bacteria to utilize.\n[Antibiotic](https://bliptext.com/articles/antibiotic) production is found in a few Massilia isolates, though many of these antibiotic compounds have not been identified.\nMassilia rhizosphaerae has antibacterial activity against the plant pathogen [Ralstonia solanacearum](https://bliptext.com/articles/ralstonia-solanacearum). Massilia antibiotica has antibacterial activity against the pathogens [Escherichia coli](https://bliptext.com/articles/escherichia-coli) and [Pseudomonas aeruginosa](https://bliptext.com/articles/pseudomonas-aeruginosa).\n\n## Quorum-regulated traits\nSome Massilia sp. are known to produce [violacein](https://bliptext.com/articles/violacein), a pigment also prouduced by [Chromobacterium violaceum](https://bliptext.com/articles/chromobacterium-violaceum). This produces blue-purple pigmented colonies.\nViolacein production is regulated by [quorum-sensing](https://bliptext.com/articles/quorum-sensing).\na mechanism by which bacteria alter their gene expression in response to the population density.","revisionCount":0},"hasMore":false,"nextCursor":null}

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