The class Zetaproteobacteria is the sixth and most recently described class of the Pseudomonadota. Zetaproteobacteria can also refer to the group of organisms assigned to this class. The Zetaproteobacteria were originally represented by a single described species, Mariprofundus ferrooxydans, which is an iron-oxidizing neutrophilic chemolithoautotroph originally isolated from Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Loihi) in 1996 (post-eruption). Molecular cloning techniques focusing on the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene have also been used to identify a more diverse majority of the Zetaproteobacteria that have as yet been unculturable.
Regardless of culturing status, the Zetaproteobacteria show up worldwide in estuarine and marine habitats associated with opposing steep redox gradients of reduced (ferrous) iron and oxygen, either as a minor detectable component or as the dominant member of the microbial community. Zetaproteobacteria have been most commonly found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, though recent discovery of members of this class in near-shore environments has led to the reevaluation of Zetaproteobacteria distribution and significance.