Estimates of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) relatedness and phenotypic characterization of 98 Bacillus polymyxa strains revealed that 70 (groups 1A and 1B) were closely related to the B. polymyxa type strain and 28 (group 2) were not. Group 1A strains (29) showed 80 to 100% DNA relatedness to the type strain, while the remaining 41 strains (group 1B) gave reduced relatedness values of 57 to 68%. Groups 1A and 1B were phenotypically identical. Low DNA homology values indicated that group 2 strains were not closely related to group 1A or 1B strains or to the type strains of Bacillus species that have guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 44 to 53 mol% or form gas from carbohydrates or both, namely, B. alvei, B. badius, B. brevis, B. coagulans, B. licheniformis, and B. macerans. Group 2 strains were phenotypically distinct from B. polymyxa and the seven recognized species.
BredemannG.1909; Untersuchungen über die Variation und das Stickstoflfbindungsvermögen des Bacillus asterosporus A. M. ausgeführt an 27 Stämmen verschiedener Herkunft. Zentralbl. Bakteriol. Parasitenkd. Infektionskr. Abt. 2 Allg. Landwirtsch. Technol. Bakteriol. Gerung. Pflanzenpathol. Pflanzensch. 22:44–89
GordonR. E., HaynesW. C., PangC. H.1973 The genus Bacillus. U.S. Department of Agriculture agricultural handbook no. 427. U.S. Department of Agriculture; Washington, D.C.:
HensleyD. E., SmileyK. L., BoundyJ. A., LagodaA. A.1980; Beta-amylase production by Bacillus polymyxa on a corn steep-starch-salts medium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 39:678680
KoranskyJ. R., AllenS. D., DowellV. R.Jr.1978; Use of ethanol for selective isolation of sporeforming microorganisms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 35:762–765
LedinghamG. A., NeishA. C.1954 Fermentative production of 2,3-butanediol. 27–93UnderkoflerL. A., HickeyR. J.edIndustrial fermentations2 Chemical Publishing Co., Inc.; New York:
NakamuraL. K., SwezeyJ.1983; Taxonomy of Bacillus circulons Jordan 1890: base composition and reassociation of deoxyribonucleic acid. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 33:46–52
PorterJ. N., BroschardR., KrupkaG., LittleP., ZellatJ. S.1949; Antibiotics derived from Bacillus polymyxa. Isolation and production of polymyxin. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 51:857–865
SchildkrautC. L., MarmurJ., DotyP.1962; Determination of the base composition of deoxyribonucleic acid from its buoyant density in CsCl. J. Mol. Biol. 4:430–443
SeldinL., Van ElsasJ. D., PenidoE. G. C.1984; Bacillus azotofixans sp. nov., a nitrogen-fixing species from Brazilian soils and grass roots. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 34:451–456