Which type of bacteria can survive with or without oxygen?

The classification of bacteria based on their oxygen requirements is crucial for understanding how they grow and survive in various environments. Facultative anaerobes are defined as bacteria that can thrive in both the presence and absence of oxygen. This flexibility allows them to adapt to different environments, utilizing aerobic respiration when oxygen is available for more efficient energy production and switching to fermentation or anaerobic respiration when oxygen is not present.

In contrast, aerobic bacteria exclusively require oxygen for growth and metabolism, while obligate anaerobes cannot survive in the presence of oxygen at all. Pseudomonas, although it is a genus that includes some species capable of aerobic respiration, does not necessarily represent the broad category of bacteria that can manage with or without oxygen as facultative anaerobes do. Therefore, the choice of facultative anaerobes accurately identifies the type of bacteria that can survive in both oxygenated and anaerobic conditions.