16S rRNA sequences of strains AHI and AHII were
found to be closely related. The 16S rRNA sequences
were compared to sequences representing the Bacilli
assemblage. Based on the nucleotide identity alone,
strains AHI and AHII are clearly affiliated with the
genus Bacillus. The 16S rRNA sequence of AHI and
AHII differs by 1.1 and 0.1% respectively from the most
closely related sequences, the sequence of Bacillus subtilis. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis
produced the tree shown in Fig. 3. In order to test the
validity of the dendrogram the data set was analyzed
with a LiCor-sequence analyzer and compared with the
VERMICON AG data bank. The phylogenetic placement
ofAHI and AHII is shown in Fig. 3.