Verrucomicrobiota is a phylum ofGram-negative bacteria that contains only a few described species. The species identified have been isolated fromfresh water, marine andsoil environments and humanfaeces. A number of as-yet uncultivated species have been identified in association with eukaryotic hosts including extrusive explosiveectosymbionts ofprotists andendosymbionts ofnematodes from genusXiphinema, residing in theirgametes.[2][3] The verrucomicrobial bacteriumAkkermansia muciniphila is a human intestinal symbiotic bacterium that is considered as a promising probiotic.[4]
Verrucomicrobiota are abundant within the environment, though relatively inactive.[5] This phylum is considered to have two sister phyla:Chlamydiota (formerly Chlamydiae) andLentisphaerota (formerly Lentisphaerae) within thePVC superphylum.[6] The Verrucomicrobiota phylum can be distinguished from neighbouring phyla within the PVC group by the presence of severalconserved signature indels (CSIs).[7] These CSIs represent unique,synapomorphic characteristics that suggest common ancestry within Verrucomicrobiota and an independent lineage amidst other bacteria.[8]CSIs have also been found that are shared by Verrucomicrobiota andChlamydiota exclusively of all other bacteria.[9] These CSIs provide evidence thatChlamydiota is the closest relative toVerrucomicrobiota, and that they are more closely related to one another than to thePlanctomycetales.
^Coomans A, Vandekerckhove TT, Claeys M (1 January 2000). "Transovarial transmission of symbionts in Xiphinema brevicollum (Nematoda: Longidoridae)".Nematology.2 (4). Brill:443–449.doi:10.1163/156854100509303.eISSN1568-5411.ISSN1388-5545.
^Vandekerckhove TT, Willems A, Gillis M, Coomans A (2000). "Occurrence of novel verrucomicrobial species, endosymbiotic and associated with parthenogenesis in Xiphinema americanum-group species (Nematoda, Longidoridae)".International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.50 (6). Microbiology Society:2197–2205.doi:10.1099/00207713-50-6-2197.ISSN1466-5034.PMID11155997.
^Cho J, Vergin K, Morris R, Giovannoni S (2004). "Lentisphaera araneosa gen. nov., sp. nov, a transparent exopolymer producing marine bacterium, and the description of a novel bacterial phylum, Lentisphaerae".Environ Microbiol.6 (6):611–21.Bibcode:2004EnvMi...6..611C.doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2004.00614.x.PMID15142250.
^Wagner, M; Horn, M (2006). "The Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Chlamydiae and sister phyla comprise a superphylum with biotechnological and medical relevance".Current Opinion in Biotechnology.17 (3):241–9.doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2006.05.005.PMID16704931.
^Verrucomicrobiota inLPSN;Freese, H. M.; Meier-Kolthoff, J. P.; Sardà Carbasse, J.; Afolayan, A. O.; Göker, M. (29 October 2025). "TYGS and LPSN in 2025: a Global Core Biodata Resource for genome-based classification and nomenclature of prokaryotes within DSMZ Digital Diversity".Nucleic Acids Research.53:D1–D12.doi:10.1093/nar/gkaf1110.
