  coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, and is the causative agent of q fever. the genus coxiella is morphologically similar to rickettsia, but with a variety of genetic and physiological differences. c. burnetii is a small gram-negative bacterium that is highly resistant to environmental stresses such as high temperature, osmotic pressure, and ultraviolet light. these characteristics are attributed to a small cell variant form of the organism that is part of a biphasic developmental cycle, including a more metabolically and replicatively active large cell variant form. it can survive standard disinfectants, and is resistant to many other environmental changes like those presented in the phagolysosome. "in contrast to other rickettsiae, which are highly sensitive and easily killed by chemical disinfectants and changes in their surroundings, c. burnetii is highly resistant" &  "the organisms are resistant to heat, drying, and many common disinfectants." ==history and naming== research in the 1920s and 1930s identified what appeared to be a new type of rickettsia, isolated from ticks, that was able to pass through filters. the first description of what may have been coxiella burnetii was published in 1925 by hideyo noguchi, but, since his samples did not survive, it remains unclear as to whether it was the same organism. the definitive descriptions were publish
Bacteria_with_sequenced_genomes Biological_weapons Gram-negative_bacteria Legionellales