Betaproteobacteria

Betaproteobacteria is a class of Gram-negative bacteria, one of six classes within the phylum Pseudomonadota. The class comprises more than 75 genera and 400 species spanning a broad range of metabolic strategies, from obligate pathogens living inside host organisms to bacteria adapted to nutrient-poor groundwater. Most members are heterotrophic, though some are photoheterotrophic or derive carbon and energy from inorganic compounds such as nitrite, ammonium, thiosulfate or sulfide. Betaproteobacteria play an economically significant role in maintaining soil pH and cycling nutrients, are used to remove nitrate from wastewater through denitrification, and several species fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some members cause disease, including Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Bordetella pertussis and Ralstonia solanacearum, the cause of bacterial wilt in plants.