= Methylorubrum
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<Methylorubrum> is a <taxonomic genus> of <Alphaproteobacteria>, established in 2018 by separating a group of <species> formerly assigned to <Methylobacterium>. Its <type species> is <Methylorubrum extorquens>. The type fixes the application of the genus name; it does not imply that every member has the same <metabolism>.<Methylorubrum in LPSN>[Valid publication, type species and nomenclatural status]{ref}
The group belongs to a much-studied assemblage of pink-pigmented, facultatively methylotrophic <bacteria>. Facultative <methylotrophy> means that a bacterium can use substrates such as <methanol> while retaining the ability to use other carbon sources. Neither pink colour nor one metabolic test should be treated as a complete definition of a <taxonomic genus>.
The boundary with <Methylobacterium> illustrates how classification is tested. A 2021 study compared 62 <type strain> <genome> assemblies, supplementing existing data with newly sequenced material. Whole-genome comparisons placed members assigned to the two genera close together and interspersed, motivating reconsideration of their separation.<Comprehensive Comparative Genomics and Phenotyping of Methylobacterium Species by Ola Alessa and others>[Abstract, whole-genome phylogeny and Conclusion]{ref} For example, a tree built from one <ribosomal RNA> gene and a tree built from many genomic regions may support different groupings. The resulting debate concerns which relatives a genus includes, rather than whether the experimental organisms suddenly changed their biological properties.
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