Bacillus

What is it about?

Gram-positive aerobic Bacilli are represented by an increasing number of different genera and families. The most recent edition of Bergey’s Manual listed 19 different genera belonging to the family Bacillaceae (Logan and de Vos, 2015), such as Bacillus, Alkalibacillus, Halobacillus, Lentibacillus, Oceanobacillus,andVirgibacillus.Manyspecies,originally described as being members of the genus Bacillus, are now reclassified as being represen- tatives of different genera and families.

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Why is it important?

Especially repre- sentatives of the genus Bacillus are applied in agriculture, environment, industry, and medicine. In this review, I will focus on Bacillus, the most important and most diverse genus of endospore-forming aerobic bacilli. Diversity within Bacillus genus is illustrated by the fact that the family Enterobacteriaceae (comprising dozens of genera) is equivalent to the single Bacillus genus.