Sutcliffiella

Sutcliffiella is a genus of Gram-Positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Sutcliffiella cohnii.

Members of Sutcliffiella are previously species belonging to Bacillus, a genus that has been recognized as displaying extensive polyphyly and phylogenetic heterogeneity due to the vague criteria (such as the ability to form endospores in the presence of oxygen) previously used to assign species to this clade. Multiple studies using comparative phylogenetic analyses have been published in an attempt to clarify the evolutionary relationships between Bacillus species, resulting in the establishment of numerous novel genera such as Alkalihalobacillus, Brevibacillus, Solibacillus, Alicyclobacillus, Virgibacillus and Evansella. In addition, the genus Bacillus has been restricted to only include species closely related to Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus.

The name Sutcliffiella was named after the British microbiologist Professor Iain Sutcliffe (University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne) for his work on microbial cell envelope and lipoproteins and his contributions towards advancement of the discipline of Microbial taxonomy as long-serving editor of the journal Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.