Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 1, 2026

Oenococcus

Oenococcus is a genus of gram-positive bacteria, placed within the family Lactobacillaceae. The only species in the genus was Oenococcus oeni. In 2006, the species Oenococcus kitaharae was identified. As its name implies, Oenococcus oeni holds major importance in the field of oenology, where it is the primary bacterium involved in completing malolactic fermentation.

Last revised
Jun 1, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
198 w
Citations
4
Source
Oenococcus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Bacillati
Phylum: Bacillota
Class: Bacilli
Order: Lactobacillales
Family: Lactobacillaceae
Genus: Oenococcus
Dicks et al. 19951
Type species
Oenococcus oeni
(Garvie 1967) Dicks et al. 19951
Species2
  • Oenococcus alcoholitolerans Badotti et al. 2015
  • "Candidatus Oenococcus aquikefiri" Verce et al. 2019
  • Oenococcus kitaharae Endo and Okada 2006
  • Oenococcus oeni (Garvie 1967) Dicks et al. 1995
  • "Oenococcus sicerae" Cousin et al. 2019

Oenococcus is a genus of gram-positive bacteria, placed within the family Lactobacillaceae. The only species in the genus was Oenococcus oeni (which was known as Leuconostoc oeni until 1995). In 2006, the species Oenococcus kitaharae was identified. As its name implies, Oenococcus oeni holds major importance in the field of oenology, where it is the primary bacterium involved in completing malolactic fermentation.3

References

References

  1. Dicks LM, Dellaglio F, Collins MD (1995). "Proposal to reclassify Leuconostoc oenos as Oenococcus oeni [corrig.] gen. nov., comb. nov". Int J Syst Bacteriol. 45 (2): 395–397. doi:10.1099/00207713-45-2-395. PMID 7537074.
  2. Euzéby JP, Parte AC. "Oenococcus". List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN). Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  3. Kunkee RE (1973). "Malo-Lactic Fermentation and Winemaking". In Webb AD (ed.). The Chemistry of Winemaking. Adv. Chem. Ser. 137. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.