Evansella is a genus of Gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae within the order Bacillales.[1][2] The type species for this genus is Evansella cellulosilytica.[3]
Members of Evansella was transferred from the genus Bacillus, a genus that has long been under close scrutiny by the scientific community due to its inclusion of many phylogenetically unrelated species.[4][5] The original criteria used to assign species into Bacillus were vague and applied to many different species of bacteria, resulting in a large genus full of unrelated organisms with a diverse range of biochemical characteristics.[6] To clarify the taxonomic relationships within the genus, multiple phylogenetic studies have been conducted, resulting in the transfer of many species into novel genera such as Virgibacillus, Solibacillus, Brevibacillus and Ectobacillus.[7][8][9][1] Additionally, Bacillus has been restricted only include species closely related to Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus.[10][1]
The name Evansella is chosen to celebrate the American microbiologist Dr. Alice Catherine Evans (1885-1975, US Department of Agriculture) in recognition of her contributions to the field of bacteriology.[1]