This is the first book on bacterial systematics at the undergraduate level. The first part explains why bacteria are classified and how they are named. It also covers the practice of classification, including evolutionary studies and identification. The applications of these methods are illustrated in the second part of the book, which describes progress in the classification and identification of the spirochaetes, helical and curved bacteria, Gram-negative aerobic, facultative and strictly anaerobic bacteria, Gram-positive cocci, rods and endospore formers, mycoplasmas, and actinomycetes,...

Aerobic endospore-forming bacteria are found in soils of all kinds, ranging from acid to alkaline, hot to cold, and fertile to desert. It is well known that endospores confer special properties upon their owners and play dominant parts in their life cycles and dispersal, and much has been written about the spores, genetics, and economic importance of these organisms. Much has also been written about soil ecology, but there is a relative dearth of literature that brings together different aspects of the behaviour and characters of endospore-formers with their contributions to soil ecosystems....