B. pseudomallei can be differentiated from another closely related, but less pathogenic species B. thailandensis by its ability to assimilate arabinose. B. pseudomallei is highly adaptable to various host environments ranging from inside mycorrhizal fungi spores to amoeba. Its adaptability may give it a survival advantage in the human body.The genome of B. pseudomallei consists of two replicons: chromosome 1 encodes housekeeping functions of the bacteria such as cell wall synthesis, mobility, and metabolism; chromosome 2 encodes functions that allow the bacteria to adapt to various environments. Horizontal gene transfer has resulted in highly variable genomes in B. pseudomallei. Australia has been suggested as the origin for B. pseudomallei because of the high genetic variability of the bacteria found in this region. Bacteria that was introduced to Central and South America in the 17th to 19th centuries seem to have a common ancestor from Africa. B. mallei is a clone of B. pseudomallei that has lost substantial portions of its genome as it adapted to live exclusively in mammals. This makes the B. mallei genome much smaller than B. pseudomallei. Transmission
B. pseudomallei is normally found in soil and surface water, and is most abundant at soil depths of 10 to 90 cm. It has been found in soils, ponds, streams, pools, stagnant water, and rice paddy fields. B. pseudomallei can survive in nutrient-poor conditions such as distilled water, desert soil, and nutrient-depleted soil for more than 16 years.
Therefore, he named the new organism Bacillus pseudomallei. He did no further work on the organism. Arthur Conan Doyle may have read Whitmores report before writing a short story that involved the fictitious tropical disease "Tapanuli fever" in a Sherlock Holmes story titled "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" published in 1913. In the same year, melioidosis outbreak occurred inside the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Kuala Lumpur, Malaya after its laboratory animals such as guinea pigs and rabbits were infected. William Fletcher and Ambrose Thomas Stanton, doctors who worked at the IMR, were the next ones to study the organism. They were unable identify the organism that caused the outbreak. It was only in 1917, when Fletcher isolated an organism similar to Whitmores bacillus from a Tamil rubber estate worker, the presence of the new species of bacteria was confirmed. The term "melioidosis" was first coined in 1921. The name melioidosis is derived from the Greek melis (μηλις) meaning "a distemper of asses" with the suffixes -oid meaning  "similar to" and -osis meaning "a condition", that is, a condition similar to glanders. B pseudomallei is similar in clinical presentation and genome make-up with B. mallei but is distinguished from it due to epidemiological and zoonotic characteristics.The first human case of melioidosis in South Asia was reported in Sri Lanka in 1927. In 1932, Thomas and Fletcher collected 83 cases of melioidosis from literature. In this case series, there were only two survivals. Since then, more case series of melioidosis were reported.