Includes a revised taxonomic outline for the Firmicutes based upon the SILVA project as well as a description of more than 1346 species and 235 genera belonging to the phylum Firmicutes, which are also called the low mol% G+C Gram positive prokaryotes. Major taxa to be included are Alicyclobacillus, Bacillus, Clostridium, Enterococcus, Erysipelothrix, Eubacterium, Haloanaerobium, Heliobacterium, Lachnospira, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Listeria, Paenibacillus, Peptococcus, Ruminococcus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Syntrophomonas, Thermoactinomyces, Thermoanaerobacter, Veillonella and 229 additional genera. Includes many medically and industrially important taxa.

One of the most authoritative works in bacterial taxonomy, this resource has been extensively revised. This five volume second edition has been reorganized along phylogenetic lines to reflect the current state of prokaryotic taxonomy. In addition to the detailed treatments provided for all of the validly named and well-known species of prokaryotes, this edition includes new ecological information and more extensive introductory chapters.

From the reviews of the second edition: "This is the latest massive tome of the new Bergey, and deals exclusively with the Phylum Firmicutes, the low G+C Gram-positive bacteria ? . an essential purchase for University and Technical libraries and larger institutional departments. ? Its readership has to be all microbiologists, molecular biologists and medical and environmental researchers ? ." (Ann P. Wood, Microbiology Today, August, 2010)