In this European project, a number of Bacillus members and relatives that are abundant in the Drentse Grasslands will be examined for their biotechnological potentialities. The role of the laboratory of microbiology of the RUG concerns the genotypic characterisation by modern DNA fingerprinting methods of the strains provided by other partners. The obtained data will be combined with phenotypic analysis in order to improve the taxonomy of this group of bacteria and hence their identification. Furthermore, the isolates will be conserved and distributed to other partners by the Belgian partner.