Complete sequence of three plasmids from Bacillus thuringiensis INTA-FR7-4 environmental isolate and comparison with related plasmids from the Bacillus cereus group

Plasmid ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel F. Amadio ◽  
Graciela B. Benintende ◽  
Rubén O. Zandomeni
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bouziane Moumen ◽  
Christophe Nguen-The ◽  
Alexei Sorokin

Diarrheic food poisoning by bacteria of the Bacillus cereus group is mostly due to several toxins encoded in the genomes. One of them, cytotoxin K, was recently identified as responsible for severe necrotic syndromes. Cytotoxin K is similar to a class of proteins encoded by genes usually annotated as haemolysin II (hlyII) in the majority of genomes of the B. cereus group. The partially sequenced genome of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis ATCC35646 contains several potentially induced prophages, one of them integrated into the hlyII gene. We determined the complete sequence and established the genomic organization of this prophage-designated phIS3501. During induction of excision of this prophage with mitomycin C, intact hlyII gene is formed, thus providing to cells a genetic ability to synthesize the active toxin. Therefore, this prophage, upon its excision, can be implicated in the regulation of synthesis of the active toxin and thus in the virulence of bacterial host. A generality of selection for such systems in bacterial pathogens is indicated by the similarity of this genetic arrangement to that of Staphylococcus aureus  β-haemolysin.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Erill ◽  
Steven M. Caruso

The genomes of two double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) bacteriophages isolated on Bacillus thuringiensis show similarity to previously sequenced phages and provide evidence of the mosaicism of phage genomes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 673-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.T. Vilas-Bôas ◽  
A.P.S. Peruca ◽  
O.M.N. Arantes

Three species of the Bacillus cereus group (Bacillus cereus, Bacillus anthracis , and Bacillus thuringiensis ) have a marked impact on human activity. Bacillus cereus and B. anthracis are important pathogens of mammals, including humans, and B. thuringiensis is extensively used in the biological control of insects. The microbiological, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of these three species are reviewed, together with a discussion of several genomic studies conducted on strains of B. cereus group. Using bacterial systematic concepts, we speculate that to understand the taxonomic relationship within this group of bacteria, special attention should be devoted also to the ecology and the population genetics of these species.


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 2002-2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGARET A. JUERGENSMEYER ◽  
BRUCE A. GINGRAS ◽  
LAWRENCE RESTAINO ◽  
ELON W. FRAMPTON

A selective and differential plating medium, R & F anthracis chromogenic agar (ACA), has been developed for isolating and identifying presumptive colonies of Bacillus anthracis. ACA contains the chromogenic substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoxyl-choline phosphate that upon hydrolysis yields teal (blue green) colonies indicating the presence of phosphatidylcholinespecific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) activity. Among seven Bacillus species tested on ACA, only members of the Bacillus cereus group (B. anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis) produced teal colonies (PC-PLC positive) having cream rings. Examination of colony morphology in 18 pure culture strains of B. anthracis (15 ATCC strains plus AMES-1-RIID, ANR-1, and AMED-RIID), with one exception, required 48 h at 35 to 37°C for significant color production, whereas only 24 h was required for B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. This differential rate of PC-PLC synthesis in B. anthracis (due to the truncated plcR gene and PlcR regulator in B. anthracis) allowed for the rapid differentiation on ACA of presumptive colonies of B. anthracis from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis in both pure and mixed cultures. Effective recovery of B. anthracis from a variety of matrices having both high (soil and sewage) and low microbial backgrounds (cloth, paper, and blood) spiked with B. anthracis ANR-1 spores suggests the probable utility of ACA plating for B. anthracis recovery in a diversity of applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomin Hu ◽  
Doudou Huang ◽  
Joseph Ogalo ◽  
Peiling Geng ◽  
Zhiming Yuan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria share similar genetic, physiological, and biochemical characteristics with other members of the Bacillus cereus group. Their diversity and entomopathogenic origin are related to their mobile genetic elements. However, the effects of wide-spread application of B. thuringiensis-based pesticides on genetically related B. cereus group populations present in the environment remain poorly understood. Results We first identified pBMB76 from B. thuringiensis tenebrionis as a new conjugative plasmid. Mixed mating experiments suggested that pBMB76 may compete with pHT73, another known conjugative plasmid. Applications of single (tenebrionis 4AA1 and kurstaki HD73 carrying pBMB76 and pHT73, respectively) and mixed (4AA1 + HD73) B. thuringiensis strains were performed in confined plot habitats (soil and leaf) over two planting seasons. In total, 684 B. cereus group isolates were randomly selected from different treatment sets, and the transmissibility and occurrence rate of potential conjugative plasmids were surveyed. Results showed that the percentage of isolates with plasmid mobility was markedly enhanced in the B. thuringiensis-sprayed groups. Furthermore, we performed multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) for a subset of 291 isolates, which indicated that the dominant sequence types in the treated habitats were identical or related to the corresponding sprayed formulations. Conclusions The application of B. thuringiensis strains with conjugal and mobilizing capability drove gene transmissibility within the B. cereus group populations in confined habitats and potentially modified the population structure.


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