| Bacilli | |
|---|---|
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| Bacillus subtilis, Gram stain | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Bacilli Ludwig et al. 2010 |
| Orders | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Bacilli is ataxonomicclass ofbacteria that includes two orders,Bacillales andLactobacillales, which contain several well-known pathogens such asBacillus anthracis (the cause ofanthrax).Bacilli are almost exclusivelygram-positive bacteria.[1]
The nameBacillus, capitalized anditalicized, refers to a specific genus of bacteria. The name Bacilli, capitalized but not italicized, can also refer to a less specific taxonomic group of bacteria that includes two orders, one of which contains the genusBacillus. When the word is formatted with lowercase and not italicized, 'bacillus', it will most likely be referring to shape and not to the genus at all.
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 agenus (Bacillus anthracis) that, among many other genera, falls within the class Bacilli.
The word "bacillus" (or its plural "bacilli", with a small b) is also a generic term to describe themorphology of any rod-shaped bacterium. This general term does not mean that the subject is a member of class Bacilli or genusBacillus. 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 exist (e.g.,Clostridium is rod-shaped but very different taxonomically). Moreover, the general term "bacillus" does not necessarily indicate theGram-positive staining common to class Bacilli. For example,E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium that can be described as "a bacillus", but it stainsGram-negative and does not belong to the genusBacillus or the class Bacilli. Somemicrobiologists have forsaken the general "bacillus" term because of the confusion it can create.
The currently accepted taxonomy based on theList of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN)[2] and theNational Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).[3]
| 16S rRNA basedLTP_10_2024[4][5][6] | 120 marker proteins basedGTDB 09-RS220[7][8][9] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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