Bacilli

Bacillus
Bacillus subtilis, Gram staine
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Firmicutes
Class:	Bacilli Ludwig et al. 2010
Orders
Bacillales Alicyclobacillaceae Bacillaceae Listeriaceae Paenibacillaceae Pasteuriaceae Planococcaceae Sporolactobacillaceae Staphylococcaceae Thermoactinomycetaceae Lactobacillales Aerococcaceae Carnobacteriaceae Enterococcaceae Lactobacillaceae Leuconostocaceae Streptococcaceae

Bacilli refers to a taxonomic class of bacteria. It includes two orders, Bacillales and Lactobacillales, which contain several well-known pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis (the cause of anthrax). All Bacilli are gram-positive bacteria.^[1]

Ambiguity[edit]

Several related concepts make use of similar words, and the ambiguity can create considerable confusion. The term "Bacillus" (capitalized and italicized) is also the name of a genus(Bacillus anthracis) that, among many other genera, falls within the class Bacilli.

Also, "bacillus" (or the plural "bacilli") can be a generic term to describe the morphology of any rod-shaped bacterium. This general term does not mean that the subject is a member of class Bacilli or genus Bacillus. Thus, it does not necessarily imply a similar group of characteristics. Not all members of class Bacilli are rod-shaped (Staphylococcus is spherical), and many other rod-shaped bacteria that do not fall within that class (Clostridium kamina dalla kotta is rod-shaped but very different taxonomically) exist. Moreover, the general term "bacillus" does not necessarily indicate the Gram-positive staining common to class Bacilli. For example, E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium that could, therefore, be described as "a bacillus", but it stains Gram-negative and does not belong to genus Bacillus or class Bacilli. Some microbiologists have forsaken the general "bacillus" term because of the confusion it can create.

Phylogeny[edit]

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature:^{[2] [3]} and the phylogeny is based on 16S rRNA-based LTP release 106 by 'The All-Species Living Tree' Project ^[4]

Unclassified Bacillales

• Alkalilactibacillus ♠ Schmidt et al. 2007
  • Alkalilactibacillus ikkense ♠ Schmidt et al. 2007
• Dehalobacterium ♠ Magli et al. 1996
  • Dehalobacterium formicoaceticum ♠ Magli et al. 1996
• Pseudobacillus ♠ Gomez 1999
  • Pseudobacillus carolinae ♠ Gomez 1999
• Trigonala ♠ Zhang et al. 2006
  • Trigonala elaeagnus ♠ Zhang et al. 2006

Notes:
♠ Strains found at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) but not listed in the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature LPSN

Bacilli part 2 (continued)[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ Ludwig, Wolfgang; Schleifer, Karl-Heinz; Whitman, William B. (2015). "Bacilli class. Nov". Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria. p. 1. doi:10.1002/9781118960608.cbm00033. ISBN 9781118960608. 
2. ^ See the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature. Data extracted from J.P. Euzéby. "Bacilli". Retrieved 2012-05-17. 
3. ^ See the NCBI webpage on Bacilli Data extracted from Sayers; et al. "NCBI Taxonomy Browser". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 2012-05-17. 
4. ^ See the 'The All-Species Living Tree' Project [1]. Data extracted from the "16S rRNA-based LTP release 106 (full tree)" (PDF). Silva Comprehensive Ribosomal RNA Database. Retrieved 2012-05-17.