Weissella is a genus of gram-positive bacteria placed within the family Lactobacillaceae, formerly considered species of the Leuconostoc paramesenteroides group. The morphology of Weissella species varies from spherical or lenticular cells to irregular rods. Several strains of Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa have shown probiotic potential. In particular, the cell-free culture supernatant of Weissella confusa shows a number of beneficial characteristics, such as antibacterial potential and anti-inflammatory efficiency. However, several strains of W. confusa are opportunistic bacteria. A number of studies have been done on the safety of the bacterial species, indicating their probiotic potential. The Senate Commission on Food Safety has validated the use of W. confusa in food.

Species

The genus Weissella comprises the following species:

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature and the phylogeny is based on whole-genome sequences.