Klebsiella oxytoca is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is closely related to K. pneumoniae, from which it is distinguished by being indole-positive; it also has slightly different growth characteristics in that it is able to grow on melezitose, but not 3-hydroxybutyrate.

[1] Klebsiella oxytoca is characterized by negative methyl red, positive VP, positive citrate, urea and TSI gas production, is AA, and negative for TSI sulfide, DNAse, growth on sulfide-indole motility medium and the phenylalanine deaminase test.

[2] Like other enterobacteria, it is capable of acquiring antibiotic resistance, and isolates have been shown to produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamases as well as carbapenemases.

[3] Klebsiella oxytoca has shown promise in industrial ethanol fuel production,[4] and is referenced as being used to produce hydrogen in patents filed by Nanologix, Inc.

[5] Outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella oxytoca have occurred in multiple hospitals and ICUs throughout the world, and handwashing stations have been identified as a potentially important environmental reservoir.