Antibiotic Susceptibility as a Taxonomic Characteristic of the Genus Bacillus

Abstract

A large number of Bacillus strains assigned to different species were tested to determine their susceptibilities to antibiotics. Some clear differences between species were observed. The antibiotic susceptibilities of strains isolated from natural sources seemed to be stable and to reflect adaptation of the strains to specific conditions in certain ecological niches. A method for data processing which can be used for rapid species identification is described.