Bacteria, especially pathogens, must constantly adapt to environmental changes. Our results show that Bacillus thuringiensis, an entomopathogenic bacterium, has developed an alternative to sporulation to survive under certain conditions, particularly during the infectious cycle. SAFir aims at characterizing this state and defining its genetic basis in sporulating firmicutes for which the survival paradigm is the spore. This study is focused on bacteria of the Bacillus cereus group, pathogenic to humans and animals, and will be carried out using global (RNA-Seq, Tn-Seq) and targeted (genetics, imaging) approaches. This project will allow the understanding of a new mechanism allowing these bacteria to persist in their niche and could open new perspectives for the control of pathogenic species of spore-forming Gram-positive bacteria.