Arthrobacter luteus

Arthrobacter luteus (ALU) is a species of gram-positive bacteria in the genus Arthrobacter. A. luteus is facultatively anaerobic, pleomorphic, branching, non-motile, non-sporulating, non-acid-fast, catalase-positive, and rod-shaped (0.6–1.0 μm × 0.8–10.0 μm).

A restriction endonuclease enzyme is extracted from the bacterium and acts at the centre of a palindromic tetranucleotide sequence to give even-ended duplex DNA fragments phosphorylated at the 5'-end. The restriction site Alu-I itself is a 4-base cutter: AG/CT. The Alu retrotransposon is named after the bacterium's abbreviation. The bacterium is also used to produce zymolyase, which can degrade yeast cell wall.