Genome-based reclassification of Evansella polygoni as a later heterotypic synonym of Evansella clarkii and transfer of Bacillus shivajii and Bacillus tamaricis to the genus Evansella as Evansella shivajii comb. nov. and Evansella tamaricis comb. nov.

In the present study, the taxonomic positions of Evansella polygoni, Evansella clarkii, Bacillus shivajii and Bacillus tamaricis were evaluated using phylogenetic and genome-based comparisons. In phylogenetic (based on 16S rRNA sequencing) and phylogenomic (based on concatenation of protein-marker genes) trees, Bacillus shivajii and Bacillus tamaricis were placed between genera Evansella and Alteribacter. The amino acid identity (AAI) values suggested that Bacillus shivajii and Bacillus tamaricis were members of the genus Evansella. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) value between Evansella polygoni and Evansella clarkii was higher than the threshold values for bacterial species delineation, indicating that they belong to the same species. Based on the results, we propose to reclassify Evansella polygoni as a later heterotypic synonym of Evansella clarkii and transfer Bacillus shivajii and Bacillus tamaricis to the genus Evansella as Evansella shivajii comb. nov. and Evansella tamaricis comb. nov.