FINE-SCALE GENETIC AND PHENOTYPIC STRUCTURE IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS AND BACILLUS LICHENIFORMIS: IMPLICATIONS FOR BACTERIAL EVOLUTION AND SPECIATION.

The genetic and phenotypic structure of sympatric populations of wild bacteria traditionally identified as Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis was analyzed. Small soil samples were taken from a single, tiny site in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, USA, to provide a true population analysis, in contrast to many analyses of genetic structure using bacterial strain collections of widely heterogeneous origin.

GENETIC EXCHANGE BETWEEN BACILLUS SUBTILIS AND BACILLUS LICHENIFORMIS: VARIABLE HYBRID STABILITY AND THE NATURE OF BACTERIAL SPECIES.

Experiments employing both broth and soil cultures demonstrated the capacity for bidirectional genetic exchange between the eubacterial species Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis. The process was studied using standard laboratory strains and wild isolates of these species. The genetic exchange in soil occurs spontaneously.