Bacillus firmus-Bacillus lentus: a Series or One Species?

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Abstract
The 46 strains of Bacillus firmus and Bacillus lentus in our collection were found to share a group of 17 physiological properties that distinguished them from morphologically similar strains of other species of the genus Bacillus. Thirteen other characteristics separated the 46 strains into one group of 20 similar to the nomenclatural type strain ofB. firmus (ATCC strain 14575) and a second group of eight strains resembling the nomenclatural type strain of B. lentus (ATCC strain 10840). The pattern of these 13 additional characteristics of the remaining 18 of the 46 strains fell between the two groups. Guanine plus cytosine content in the deoxyribonucleic acid of 31 of the 46 strains ranged from 39.0 to 48.3 mol% and did not allow separation of the strains into distinct groups. The 46 strains of our collection could not, therefore, be cleanly divided by the properties tested and appeared as a spectrum, or series, of strains.