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.