Paul et al. (2021)[4] isolated and characterized Burkholderia cepacia from marine sponges of the Saint Martin's Island of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.

[4] The Burkholderia (previously part of Pseudomonas) genus name refers to a group of virtually ubiquitous Gram-negative, obligately aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that are motile by means of single or multiple polar flagella, with the exception of Burkholderia mallei, which is nonmotile.

[5] Due to their antibiotic resistance and the high mortality rate from their associated diseases, B. mallei and B. pseudomallei are considered to be potential biological warfare agents, targeting livestock and humans.

[4] Currently, the 48 validly named species can be distinguished from related genera (i.e. Paraburkholderia) and all other bacteria by conserved signature indels in a variety of proteins.

[7][8] Recently, research in Burkholderia species has investigated a range of topics and characteristics including metabolomic response to antibiotics, contact-dependent interactions between bacterial communities, and genomic potential to yield beneficial products.

Furthermore, recipient cells that have the corresponding protein then undergo changes to gene expression and phenotype that promotes community formation in the form of biofilms.

[11][14] Along with the related genus Pseudomonas, Burkholderia can synthesize a particular class of biosurfactant called rhamnolipids.