title: Bacillus mojavensis sp. nov., distinguishable from Bacillus subtilis by sexual isolation, divergence in DNA sequence, and differences in fatty acid composition.
abstract: A number of Bacillus strains isolated from desert soil samples were shown to belong to a previously unidentified species, for which we propose the name Bacillus mojavensis. The type strain is RO-H-1 (= NRRL B-14698). On the basis of restriction digest data, B. mojavensis is most closely related to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus atrophaeus, and Bacillus subtilis. So far, B. mojavensis can be distinguished from B. subtilis only by differences in whole-cell fatty acid composition, divergence in DNA sequence, and resistance to genetic transformation between taxa (in addition to reduced genome relatedness values). Sequence divergence and sexual isolation may prove to be more useful than metabolic characteristics for delimiting cryptic Bacillus species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0170.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Cohan
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D003889:Desert Climate; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012293:Rifampin / Q000494:pharmacology; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012293:Rifampin