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Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology: Phytostimulation and Biocontrol pp 143–150Cite as

Phylogeny and Taxonomy of Agriculturally Important Bacillus Species

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Abstract

The species of agriculturally important Bacillus strains have previously been plagued with inconsistencies in their taxonomic treatment. Most of these problems can be traced to the historical lack of distinguishing phenotypic characters and easy genotyping methods to provide appropriate taxonomic placement. Currently, the two most important clades in this area are the Bacillus subtilis group and the B. cereus group. The B. subtilis group encompasses species that are important as biological control agents, plant growth promoters, probiotics, sources of food processing enzymes, and food fermentation inoculants, while the B. cereus group comprises species that impact agriculture as food poisoning agents and human and livestock pathogens and are extensively used for the biological control of insects. Modern DNA sequencing techniques have resolved many of the historical conflicts and inconsistencies. This chapter provides the current updated status on the taxonomy of these two important Bacillus groups and provides guidance on how to identify isolates from these groups.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crop Bioprotection Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL, USA

    Christopher Dunlap

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  1. Christopher Dunlap
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Correspondence to Christopher Dunlap .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh

    Md Tofazzal Islam

  2. West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    M. Mahfuz Rahman

  3. Department of Microbiology, Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India

    Piyush Pandey

  4. Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Michael Henry Boehme

  5. Department of Applied Biosciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Geert Haesaert

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Dunlap, C. (2019). Phylogeny and Taxonomy of Agriculturally Important Bacillus Species. In: Islam, M., Rahman, M., Pandey, P., Boehme, M., Haesaert, G. (eds) Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology: Phytostimulation and Biocontrol. Bacilli in Climate Resilient Agriculture and Bioprospecting. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15175-1_8

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