Arthrobacter

Arthrobacter (from the Greek, "jointed small stick”) is a genus of bacteria that is commonly found in soil. Members of the genus have also been reported from insect-associated environments, suggesting ecological roles beyond soil habitats. All species in this genus are Gram-positive obligate aerobes that are rods during exponential growth and cocci in their stationary phase. Arthrobacter have a distinctive method of cell division called "snapping division" or reversion in which the outer bacterial cell wall ruptures at a joint.