Gracilicutes (Latin: gracilis, slender, and cutis, skin, referring to the cell wall) is a taxon created by Cavalier-Smith, which he believes to be a clade comprising the Proteobacteria, the Planctobacteria (comprising Chlamydiae and Planctomycetes), the Sphingobacteria (comprising the green sulfur bacteria and Bacteroidetes), and Spirochaetae. It is a Gram-negative clade that branched off from other bacteria just before the evolutionary loss of the outer membrane or capsule, and just after the evolution of flagella.
Cavalier-Smith's version of the tree of life, showing the subgroups of the clade
Gracilicutes.
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Prokaryotes: Bacteria classification |
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G-/
OM |
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Gracilicutes
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Other/ungrouped
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G+/
no OM |
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note: not all classifications are universally accepted
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