Abstract | The taxonomic features of 16 representatives of the genus Bacillus isolated from seawater samples, sponges of the family Phylospongidae and some unidentified sponges, ascidians, soft corals, and the crab Callinectes sapidus were investigated. The majority of the strains (11 out of 16) belonged to the B. subtilis phenotype, one strain was identified as B. pumilus, and four alkaliphilic strains were assigned to B. horti. Polyphasic taxonomy approaches involving a set of phenotypic characteristics, the API test system, antibiotic susceptibility, and cellular fatty-acid composition are essential for the identification of marine environment isolates of aerobic spore-forming bacteria of the genus Bacillus. © 1999 MAEe cyrillic signK "Hayκa/Interperiodica". |