Lentisphaerota

Lentisphaerota is a phylum of bacteria closely related to Chlamydiota and Verrucomicrobiota.

It includes two monotypic orders Lentisphaerales and Victivallales. Phylum members can be aerobic or anaerobic and fall under two distinct phenotypes. These phenotypes live within bodies of sea water and were particularly hard to isolate in a pure culture. One phenotype, L. marina, consists of terrestrial gut microbiota from mammals and birds. It was found in the Sea of Japan. The other phenotype (L. araneosa) includes marine microorganisms: sequences from fish and coral microbiomes and marine sediment.