Bergey''s
Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, one of the most comprehensive and authoritative works in the
field of bacterial taxonomy, has been extensively revised in the form of a five volume Second Edition. Since the first
Edition was published in 1984, the field has undergone explosive growth, with over 2200 new
species and 390 new genera having been described. Numerous taxonomic rearrangements and changes in nomenclature have resulted from more than 850 published new combinations. These developments, which are attributable to rapid advances in molecular sequencing of highly conserved regions of the
procaryotic genome, most notably genes coding for the RNA of the small ribosomal subunit, have lead to a natural classification that reflects the evolutionary history of Bacteria and Archaea, and to the development of new, universally applicable methods of identifying these organisms. This new edition has been completely reorganized along
phylogenetic lines to reflect the current state of procaryotic taxonomy but still maintains the familiar layout of the First Edition. In addition to the detailed treatments, provided for all of the validly named and well-known species of procaryotes, new ecological information and more extensive introductory chapters have been added. Use of the manual is aided by a system of cross referencing between the phylogenetic
groups and the phenotypic groups used in the First Edition. In keeping with the tradition of the First Edition, volumes will be available individually, and eventually as a complete set. The editors for Volume One are David R. Boone of Portland State University and Richard W. Castenholz of the University of Oregon.
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