Bacillus

Bacillus subtilis is one of the oldest named bacteria which is firstly identified through Ferdinand Cohn in 1872. The genus is characterized through the formation of endospores. The spores survive so efficiently which it is possible to recover Bacillus subtilis from most environments. Rod-shaped Bacillus is a physiologically diverse genus, rationalized through the recent removal of various thermotolerant strains to Geobacillus. Closely associated species include Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of Bacillus and anthrax thuringiensis that produces commercially employed insect larvicides.