granulibacter bethesdensis granulibacter bethesdensis granulibacter bethesdensis is a gram-negative, aerobic coccobacillus to rod-shaped, non-motile, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative bacteria first described in 2006 by dr. steve holland's team at the national institutes of health in bethesda, maryland. granulibacter bethesdensis scientific classification domain: bacteria phylum: pseudomonadota class: alphaproteobacteria order: rhodospirillales family: acetobacteraceae genus: granulibacter species: granulibacter bethesdensisgreenberg et al. 2006 clinical significance granulibacter bethesdensis was identified in a series of patients with chronic granulomatous disease (cgd). in a later study, nearly half of patients with cgd tested and a quarter of healthy volunteers showed some immunoreactivity to granulibacter bethesdensis, suggesting infections with this organism occur more often than it is isolated.