scholarly journals Pathogenomic Sequence Analysis of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis Isolates Closely Related to Bacillus anthracis

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (21) ◽  
pp. 7711-7711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cliff S. Han ◽  
Gary Xie ◽  
Jean F. Challacombe ◽  
Michael R. Altherr ◽  
Smriti S. Bhotika ◽  
...  
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.


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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 3860-3863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinshui Zheng ◽  
Donghai Peng ◽  
Xiaoling Song ◽  
Lifang Ruan ◽  
Jacques Mahillon ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTcsaBgene analysis clustered 198 strains ofBacillus anthracis,Bacillus cereus, andBacillus thuringiensisinto two groups related to mammalian and insect hosts, respectively. Mammal-related group I strains also have more S-layer homology (SLH) protein genes than group II strains. This indicates thatcsaB-based differentiation reflects selective pressure from animal hosts.


2006 ◽  
Vol 348 (1) ◽  
pp. 320-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa K. Wilson ◽  
Rebecca J. Abergel ◽  
Kenneth N. Raymond ◽  
Jean E.L. Arceneaux ◽  
B. Rowe Byers

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.


2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 2627-2630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erlendur Helgason ◽  
Ole Andreas Økstad ◽  
Dominique A. Caugant ◽  
Henning A. Johansen ◽  
Agnes Fouet ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, andBacillus thuringiensis are members of the Bacillus cereus group of bacteria, demonstrating widely different phenotypes and pathological effects. B. anthracis causes the acute fatal disease anthrax and is a potential biological weapon due to its high toxicity. B. thuringiensis produces intracellular protein crystals toxic to a wide number of insect larvae and is the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. B. cereus is a probably ubiquitous soil bacterium and an opportunistic pathogen that is a common cause of food poisoning. In contrast to the differences in phenotypes, we show by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and by sequence analysis of nine chromosomal genes thatB. anthracis should be considered a lineage of B. cereus. This determination is not only a formal matter of taxonomy but may also have consequences with respect to virulence and the potential of horizontal gene transfer within the B. cereus group.


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2529-2533 ◽  
Author(s):  
THOMAS J. MONTVILLE ◽  
TARA DE SIANO ◽  
ADAM NOCK ◽  
SALLY PADHI ◽  
DAVID WADE

The ability of nisin, synthetic temporin analogs, magainins, defensins, and cecropins to inhibit Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus mycoides, and Bacillus subtilis growth from spore inocula was determined using well diffusion assays. Nisin, magainin II amide, and defensins were inhibitory in screening against B. anthracis Sterne or B. cereus ATCC 7004, but only nisin inhibited virulent B. anthracis strains. The MICs of nisin against the 10 Bacillus strains examined were 0.70 to 13.51 μg/ml. Synthetic temporin analogs also inhibited B. anthracis but were not as potent as nisin. None of the strains examined were appropriate B. anthracis surrogates for testing sensitivity to antimicrobial peptides.


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