Bacillus aerius sp. nov., Bacillus aerophilus sp. nov., Bacillus stratosphericus sp. nov. and Bacillus altitudinis sp. nov., isolated from cryogenic tubes used for collecting air samples from high altitudes

1 Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India 2 Indian Space Research Organization, Antariksha Bhavan, New BEL Road, Bangalore 500 094, India 3 Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Fifth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK 4 Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Post Bag No. 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007, India 5 Anveshna Consultancy Services, Furqan Cottage, Street No. 3, Tarnaka, Hyderabad 500 017, India Correspondence S. Shivaji shivas{at}ccmb.res.in Four novel bacterial strains were isolated from cryogenic tubes used to collect air samples at altitudes of 24, 28 and 41 km. The four strains, 24K T , 28K T , 41KF2a T and 41KF2b T , were identified as members of the genus Bacillus . Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that three of the strains, 24K T , 28K T and 41KF2a T , are very similar to one another (>98 % sequence similarity) and show a similarity of 98–99 % with Bacillus licheniformis and 98 % with Bacillus sonorensis . DNA–DNA hybridization studies showed that strains 24K T , 28K T and 41KF2a T exhibit