Lesson plan
Alteribacter
Alteribacter is a genus of Gram-positive or Gram-variable, rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae within the order Bacillales. The type species for this genus is Alteribacter auranticus. Alteribacter is composed of species originally belonging to the genus Bacillus, a large genus that displays extensive polyphyly among its members. The polyphyletic nature of this genus has long been recognized by the scientific community, and occurred partly due to the vague criteria used to assign species into this genus. For example, many phylogenetically unrelated species possess the ability to form endospores under aerobic conditions, yet this criterion was deemed sufficient for inclusion into the genus Bacillus. In order to clarify the complex taxonomic interrelationships of this genus, multiple studies focused on phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses have restricted Bacillus to only include species closely related to Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus as well as transferred many species into new novel genera such as Virgibacillus, Solibacillus, Brevibacillus and Ectobacillus. The name Alteribacter is derived from the prefix "alter-" (which comes from the Latin adjective alter, and translates to "another") and the suffix "-bacter" (which comes from the Latin noun bacter, referring to a rod). Put together, the name Alteribacter refers to another rod.
Article summary
Alteribacter is a genus of Gram-positive or Gram-variable, rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae within the order Bacillales. The type species for this genus is Alteribacter auranticus. Alteribacter is composed of species originally belonging to the genus Bacillus, a large genus that displays extensive polyphyly among its members. The polyphyletic nature of this genus has long been recognized by the scientific community, and occurred partly due to the vague criteria used to assign species into this genus. For example, many phylogenetically unrelated species possess the ability to form endospores under aerobic conditions, yet this criterion was deemed sufficient for inclusion into the genus Bacillus. In order to clarify the complex taxonomic interrelationships of this genus, multiple studies focused on phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses have restricted Bacillus to only include species closely related to Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus as well as transferred many species into new novel genera such as Virgibacillus, Solibacillus, Brevibacillus and Ectobacillus. The name Alteribacter is derived from the prefix "alter-" (which comes from the Latin adjective alter, and translates to "another") and the suffix "-bacter" (which comes from the Latin noun bacter, referring to a rod). Put together, the name Alteribacter refers to another rod.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.