The Bacillaceae are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
gram-positive
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
Gram-positive bact ...
,
heterotrophic
A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...
, rod-shaped
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...
that may produce
endospores. Motile members of this family are characterized by peritrichous flagella. Some Bacillaceae are
aerobic
Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen.
Aerobic may also refer to
* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity
* Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise
* Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cel ...
, while others are
facultative or strict
anaerobes
An anaerobic organism or anaerobe is any organism that does not require molecular oxygen for growth. It may react negatively or even die if free oxygen is present. In contrast, an aerobic organism (aerobe) is an organism that requires an oxygenate ...
. Most are not
pathogenic, but ''
Bacillus
''Bacillus'' (Latin "stick") is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum '' Bacillota'', with 266 named species. The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-shaped bacteria; and the plural ''Bacill ...
'' species are known to cause disease in humans.
Gram-variable cell wall
Some Bacillaceae, such as the genera ''
Filobacillus,
Lentibacillus,'' and ''
Halobacillus'', stain Gram-negative or Gram-variable, but are known to have a Gram-positive cell wall.
[Lim, J.M., Jeon, C.O., Song, S.M., and C.J. Kim. 2005]
''Pontibacillus chungwhensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a moderately halophilic Gram-positive bacterium from a solar saltern in Korea''
Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 55:165-170.
Nomenclature
Taxa within this family are sometimes colloquially identified as
bacilli
Bacilli is a taxonomic class of bacteria that includes two orders, Bacillales and Lactobacillales, which contain several well-known pathogens such as ''Bacillus anthracis'' (the cause of anthrax). ''Bacilli'' are almost exclusively gram-positi ...
. However, this term is ambiguous because it does not distinguish between class
Bacilli
Bacilli is a taxonomic class of bacteria that includes two orders, Bacillales and Lactobacillales, which contain several well-known pathogens such as ''Bacillus anthracis'' (the cause of anthrax). ''Bacilli'' are almost exclusively gram-positi ...
, order
Bacillales
The Bacillales are an order of Gram-positive bacteria, placed within the Bacillota. Representative genera include ''Bacillus'', ''Listeria'' and ''Staphylococcus
''Staphylococcus'' is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staph ...
, family Bacillaceae, and genus ''
Bacillus
''Bacillus'' (Latin "stick") is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum '' Bacillota'', with 266 named species. The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-shaped bacteria; and the plural ''Bacill ...
''.
Genera
The
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...
family Bacillaceae comprises the following:
See Also
*
List of bacteria genera This article lists the genera of the bacteria. The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). However many taxonomic names are ...
*
List of bacterial orders
This article lists the orders of the Bacteria. The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
and the phylogeny is based on 16S ...
References
Bacillales
{{Bacilli-stub