Azomonas agilis

Azomonas agilis is a species of motile, Gram-negative bacteria found in water and is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. It is the type strain for the genus Azomonas.

Azomonas agilis
Colonial morphology (left) and microscopic morphology (x100; right)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Pseudomonadota
Class:	Gammaproteobacteria
Order:	Pseudomonadales
Family:	Pseudomonadaceae
Genus:	Azomonas
Species:	A. agilis
Binomial name
Azomonas agilis (Beijerinck 1901) Winogradsky 1938

A. agilis resembles protists with its ovoid, ellipsoidal, or coccoid cells.[1] The cells are relatively large, usually 2.5-6.4 μm long and 2.0-2.8 μm wide, though giant cells that are 10.0-13.5 μm have been described.[1] The cells have peritrichous flagella which enable motility.[1] The species also produces a diffusible yellow-green or red-violet pigment which fluoresces bluish-white under ultraviolet light.[1]

A. agilis was first isolated and described by Martinus Beijerinck in 1901, who obtained the species from Dutch canal water in Delft.[1] Beijernick's original strain has been lost, so the strain isolated by Albert Kluyver and van den Bout is now the neotype.[1] Despite the fact that mannitol was used by Beijerinck in his enrichment medium for A. agilis, the bacteria in pure culture cannot use it as a carbon source unless it is first degraded by other microbes.[1]

The species can tolerate salt concentrations up to 1.0% and is resistant to iodoacetate (1 μM) which suggests it may have ability to live in contaminated waters with relatively high concentrations of organic matter and mineral salts.[1] This bacterium has also been implicated in the bioremediation of cadmium-polluted water.[2]