Phocaeicola

Phocaeicola
Scientific classification
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Pseudomonadati
Phylum: Bacteroidota
Class: Bacteroidia
Order: Bacteroidales
Family: Bacteroidaceae
Genus: Phocaeicola
Al Masalma et al., 2009

Phocaeicola is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria in the family Bacteroidaceae, within the phylum Bacteroidota. The cells are non-spore-forming, non-motile, and vary from coccoid to rod-shaped. They are strictly anaerobic and typically found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals.

The type species, Phocaeicola abscessus, was isolated from a human brain abscess in the Turkish coastal city of Foça, formerly known as ancient Phocaea, which inspired the genus name.

In 2020, many species formerly classified in the genus Bacteroides were reassigned to Phocaeicola based on whole-genome phylogenetic analyses.