“+ noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Thiobacterium, genus of sulfur bacteria in some classifications + -aceae
: a family of coccoid to rod-shaped free-living bacteria (order Pseudomonadales) that oxidize sulfur compounds as a source of energy usually with the deposit of free sulfur and may or may not require an organic source of carbon — see thiobacillus ; compare nitrobacteriaceae