| Morphology | Photobacterium |
| CELLULAR |
| Staining | Gram-negative |
| Morphology | Plump, straight rods, 0.8-1.3 um in diameter and 1.8-2.4 um in length. |
| Motility | Motile by one to three unsheathed polar flagella; some nonmotile |
| Specialized structures | Accumulate poly-B-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) under certain conditions of cultivation; do not utilize the exogenous monomer B-hydroxybutyrate. Involution forms usually seen in old cultures or under adverse conditions of cultivation. Do not form endospores or microcysts |
| Division |
| COLONIAL |
| Solid surface |
| Liquid |
| Growth Parameters | Photobacterium |
| PHYSIOLOGICAL |
| Tropism | Chemoorganotrophs |
| Oxygen | Capable of respiratory and fermentative metabolism. Grow in presence and absence of oxygen which is a universal electron acceptor |
| pH | |
| Temperature | grow at 20`C |
| Requirements | Sodium ions are required for growth Most strains grow in a mineral medium containing a seawater base, D-glucose, and NH4Cl; other strains also require L-methionine. |
| Products | Do not denitrify. Do not fix molecular nitrogen. Fermentation of D-glucose results in production of acidic end products In addition to D-glucose all utilize D-mannose, D-fructose, and glycerol |
| Enzymes | |
| Unique features | Two species are bioluminescent. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL |
| Habitat | Common in the marine environment and on the surfaces and in the intestinal contents of marine animals;. |
| Lifestyle | some found as symbionts in specialized luminous organs of marine fish |
| Pathogenicity |
| Distribution |
| Genome | Photobacterium |
| G+C Mol % | 0-44 (Tm, Bd). |
| Reference | Photobacterium |
| First citation | Beijerinck,M.W. (1889) Le Photobacterium luminosum. Bacterie luminosoum de la Mer Nord. Arch. Neer. Sci. 23:401-427 |
| The Prokaryotes | p |
| Bergey's Systematatic | p 539 P. Baumann and L. Baumann |
| Bergey's Determinative | p 192 |
| References |