Inspired by the pace of change in the taxonomy of the aerobic endospore-forming bacteria, the "Bacillus 2000" symposium on which this book is based was held in Bruges, Belgium, in August 2000, and was supported by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, the Belgian Society for Microbiology, and several commercial sponsors. Bringing taxonomists interested in Bacillus and its relatives together with people who work with these organisms in medicine, agriculture, and industry, allowed those attending to appreciate the overlaps and interactions of their areas of expertise, in the absence of any comprehensive treatment of the current systematics of the group.

The meeting was a great success, and has resulted in the production of these proceedings, Applications and Systematics of Bacillus and Relatives, providing an up-to-date and comprehensive treatise on the classification, identification and applications of the aerobic endospore-forming bacteria; it is an essential reference for all microbiologists interested in these organisms.

• Valuable reference work for all those interested in the systematics of Bacillus and its relatives.
• Produced in response to the successful Bacillus 2000 meeting in Bruges and was supported by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, the Belgian Society for Microbiology, and several commercial sponsors.
• Of use to those working in fields as diverse as medicine, agriculture, food and industry.
• Comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the systematics of these organisms.
• Includes the application of sophisticated chemotaxonomic and genetic characterization methods.