Bacillus
Related Category: Moneran and Protistan
(bəsĭl´əs), any rod-shaped bacterium or, more particularly, a rod-shaped bacterium of the genus
Bacillus. Some bacterium in the genus cause disease, for example
B. anthracis is the cause of
anthrax; others are useful in the production of
antibiotics (e.g.,
gramicidin and
bacitracin). Many organisms earlier classified as
Bacillus species are now placed in different genera but continue to be referred to as baccili.