Reclassification of Bacillus axarquiensis Ruiz-García et al. 2005 and Bacillus malacitensis Ruiz-García et al. 2005 as later heterotypic synonyms of Bacillus mojavensis Roberts et al. 1994

<jats:p>The <jats:italic>Bacillus subtilis</jats:italic> group encompasses the taxa <jats:italic>Bacillus subtilis</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>subtilis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. licheniformis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. amyloliquefaciens</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. atrophaeus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. mojavensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. vallismortis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. subtilis</jats:italic> subsp. <jats:italic>spizizenii</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. sonorensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. velezensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. axarquiensis</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>B. malacitensis</jats:italic>. In this study, the taxonomic relatedness between the species <jats:italic>B. axarquiensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. malacitensis</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>B. mojavensis</jats:italic> was investigated. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and the gene for DNA gyrase subunit B (<jats:italic>gyrB</jats:italic>) confirmed the very high similarities between these three type strains and a reference strain of <jats:italic>B. mojavensis</jats:italic> (>99 and >97 %, respectively). DNA–DNA hybridization experiments revealed high relatedness values between the type strains of <jats:italic>B. axarquiensis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>B. malacitensis</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>B. mojavensis</jats:italic> and between these strains and a reference strain of <jats:italic>B. mojavensis</jats:italic> (83–98 %). Based on these molecular taxonomic data and the lack of phenotypic distinctive characteristics, <jats:italic>Bacillus axarquiensis</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Bacillus malacitensis</jats:italic> should be reclassified as later heterotypic synonyms of <jats:italic>Bacillus mojavensis</jats:italic>.</jats:p>