Aerococcus is a genus in the phylum
Firmicutes (
Bacteria). The genus was first identified in 1953 from samples of air and dust as a
catalase negative
Gram positive
coccus that grew in small clusters. They were subsequently found in hospital environments and meat-curing brines. It has been difficult to identify as it resembles
alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus on
blood agar plates and is difficult to identify by biochemical means. Sequencing of
16S rRNA have become the gold standard for identification, but other techniques such as
MALDI-TOF have also been useful for identifying both the genus and species.