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Microbiology Spectrum May 2019The group includes several species with closely related phylogeny. The most well-studied members of the group, , , and , are known for their pathogenic potential.... (Review)
Review
The group includes several species with closely related phylogeny. The most well-studied members of the group, , , and , are known for their pathogenic potential. Here, we present the historical rationale for speciation and discuss shared and unique features of these bacteria. Aspects of cell morphology and physiology, and genome sequence similarity and gene synteny support close evolutionary relationships for these three species. For many strains, distinct differences in virulence factor synthesis provide facile means for species assignment. is the causative agent of anthrax. Some strains are commonly recognized as food poisoning agents, but strains can also cause localized wound and eye infections as well as systemic disease. Certain strains are entomopathogens and have been commercialized for use as biopesticides, while some strains have been reported to cause infection in immunocompromised individuals. In this article we compare and contrast , , and , including ecology, cell structure and development, virulence attributes, gene regulation and genetic exchange systems, and experimental models of disease.
Topics: Animals; Anthrax; Anthrax Vaccines; Bacillus; Bacillus anthracis; Bacillus cereus; Bacillus thuringiensis; Bacterial Toxins; Bacterial Vaccines; Biological Control Agents; DNA, Bacterial; Disease Models, Animal; Ecology; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genes, Bacterial; Genome, Bacterial; Humans; Infections; Invertebrates; Phylogeny; Species Specificity; Spores, Bacterial; Virulence
PubMed: 31111815
DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.GPP3-0032-2018 -
Infection Control and Hospital... Aug 1988
Review
Topics: Animals; Bacillus; Bacillus anthracis; Bacillus cereus; Bacterial Infections; Cross Infection; Humans; Opportunistic Infections
PubMed: 3139745
DOI: 10.1086/645890 -
Current Opinion in Biotechnology Apr 2019Bacillus species such as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens are widely used to produce fermented foods from soybeans and locust beans in Asian and West... (Review)
Review
Bacillus species such as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens are widely used to produce fermented foods from soybeans and locust beans in Asian and West African countries, respectively. Genomic information for B. subtilis strains isolated from Asian Bacillus-fermented foods (BFFs) has been gathered, and the chemical components of fermented products were defined with metabolomic approaches, facilitating the development of new starter strains and the evaluation of health claims. On the other hand, although advanced studies have been performed for some commercially produced BFFs, home-manufactured products still remain to be characterized in rural areas. In West Africa, the microbial flora of BFFs was examined in detail, leading to the isolation of candidates of the starter that produced bacteriocin against Bacillus cereus contaminating the products. These studies may provide a choice of Bacillus strains in food application and increase opportunities for further usage of Bacillus in foods.
Topics: Animals; Bacillus; Bacillus subtilis; Fermentation; Fermented Foods; Food Microbiology; Humans; Glycine max
PubMed: 30227296
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.09.001 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology May 2019Some members of the Bacillus velezensis (Bv) group (e.g., Bv FZB42T and AS3.43) were previously assigned grouping with B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens, based on the... (Review)
Review
Some members of the Bacillus velezensis (Bv) group (e.g., Bv FZB42T and AS3.43) were previously assigned grouping with B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens, based on the fact that they shared a 99% DNA-DNA percentage phylogenetic similarity. However, hinging on current assessments of the pan-genomic reassignments, the differing phylogenomic characteristics of Bv from B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens are now better understood. Within this re-grouping/reassignment, the various strains within the Bv share a close phylogenomic resemblance, and a number of these strains have received a lot of attention in recent years, due to their genomic robustness, and the growing evidence for their possible utilization in the agricultural industry for managing plant diseases. Only a few applications for their use medicinally/pharmaceutically, environmentally, and in the food industry have been reported, and this may be due to the fact that the majority of those strains investigated are those typically occurring in soil. Although the intracellular unique biomolecules of Bv strains have been revealed via in silico genome modeling and investigated using transcriptomics and proteomics, a further inquisition into the Bv metabolome using newer technologies such as metabolomics could elucidate additional applications of this economically relevant Bacillus species, beyond that of primarily the agricultural sector.
Topics: Bacillus; Food Microbiology; Genome, Bacterial; Genomics; Industrial Microbiology; Metabolome; Phylogeny
PubMed: 30911788
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09710-5 -
Infection, Genetics and Evolution :... Jul 2011Bacillus is a diverse bacterial genus characterized by cells growing aerobically and forming dormant endospores. Although Bacillus species were some of the first... (Review)
Review
Bacillus is a diverse bacterial genus characterized by cells growing aerobically and forming dormant endospores. Although Bacillus species were some of the first bacteria ever characterized, their relationships to one another remain enigmatic. The recent deluge of environmental sequencing projects has further complicated our view of Bacillus taxonomy and diversity. In this review we discuss the current state of Bacillus taxonomy and focus on two examples that highlight the ecological diversity found within identical 16S rDNA-based clusters: the identification of ecologically distinct clusters of B. simplex in Evolution Canyons and the demarcation of species in the industrially and medically important B. cereus group. These examples highlight the difficulties of purely 16S rDNA-based taxonomy, emphasizing the need to interpret the massive amounts of molecular data from environmental sequencing projects in a bacterial ecology framework. Such interpretations are likely to reveal ecological diversity within Bacillus that extends beyond that previously imaginable, providing a true picture of Bacillus ecology and evolution.
Topics: Bacillus; Genome, Bacterial; Genomics; Phenotype
PubMed: 21334463
DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2011.02.001 -
Journal of Applied Microbiology Mar 2012Species of Bacillus and related genera have long been troublesome to food producers on account of their resistant endospores. These organisms have undergone huge... (Review)
Review
Species of Bacillus and related genera have long been troublesome to food producers on account of their resistant endospores. These organisms have undergone huge taxonomic changes in the last 30 years, with numbers of genera and species now standing at 56 and over 545, respectively. Despite this expansion, relatively few new species have been isolated from infections, few are associated with food and no important new agents of foodborne illness have been reported. What has changed is our knowledge of the established agents. Bacillus cereus is well known as a cause of food poisoning, and much more is now understood about its toxins and their involvement in infections and intoxications. Also, although B. licheniformis, B. subtilis and B. pumilus have occasionally been isolated from cases of food-associated illness, their roles were usually uncertain. Much more is now known about the toxins that strains of these species may produce, so that their significances in such episodes are clearer; however, it is still unclear why such cases are so rarely reported. Another important development is the use of aerobic endosporeformers as probiotics, as the potentials of such organisms to cause illness or to be sources of antibiotic resistance need to be borne in mind.
Topics: Bacillus; Food Microbiology; Foodborne Diseases; Probiotics; Spores, Bacterial
PubMed: 22121830
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2011.05204.x -
World Journal of Microbiology &... Jan 2024Bacillus biocontrol agent(s) BCA(s) such as Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus subtilis have been widely applied to control insects' pests of plants... (Review)
Review
Bacillus biocontrol agent(s) BCA(s) such as Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus subtilis have been widely applied to control insects' pests of plants and pathogenic microbes, improve plant growth, and facilitate their resistance to environmental stresses. In the last decade, researchers have shown that, the application of Bacillus biocontrol agent(s) BCA(s) optimized agricultural production yield, and reduced disease risks in some crops. However, these bacteria encountered various abiotic stresses, among which ultraviolet (UV) radiation severely decrease their efficiency. Researchers have identified several strategies by which Bacillus biocontrol agents resist the negative effects of UV radiation, including transcriptional response, UV mutagenesis, biochemical and artificial means (addition of protective agents). These strategies are governed by distinct pathways, triggered by UV radiation. Herein, the impact of UV radiation on Bacillus biocontrol agent(s) BCA(s) and their mechanisms of resistance were discussed.
Topics: Bacillus; Ultraviolet Rays; Bacillus cereus; Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus thuringiensis
PubMed: 38165488
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-023-03856-1 -
Trends in Biotechnology Dec 2012
Topics: Bacillus; Cell Surface Display Techniques; Spores, Bacterial
PubMed: 23084844
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2012.09.005 -
Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and... 2003The members of Bacillus species are Gram-positive, ubiquitous spore-forming bacilli. Several genomic sequences have been made available during recent years, including... (Review)
Review
Bacillus species proteins involved in spore formation and degradation: from identification in the genome, to sequence analysis, and determination of function and structure.
The members of Bacillus species are Gram-positive, ubiquitous spore-forming bacilli. Several genomic sequences have been made available during recent years, including Bacillus subtilis, a model organism among this genus, Bacillus anthracis, and their analyses provided a wealth of information about spore-forming bacteria. Some members of this species can cause serious diseases in livestock and humans. An important pathogen in this group of organisms is B. anthracis, which is the causative agent of anthrax. A summary of the B. subtilis genome information, based on the publicly released sequence, that allowed for the identification and characterization of new and novel proteins of this organism as well as similar proteins from other members of Bacillus species is provided. The primary goal for this work is to present a review of the genome sequence-identified genes that encode proteins involved in the sporulation, germination, and outgrowth processes. These three processes are essential for spore development and later its transformation into a vegetative cell. Additionally, for a few selected examples of the protein products of the identified genes, the application of bioinformatics and modeling tools is illustrated in order to determine their likely structure and function. Two three-dimensional models of the structures of such proteins, PrfA endonuclease and phosphatase PhoE, are presented together with the structure-based functional conclusions. The review of such studies provides an example of how the genomic sequence can be utilized in order to elucidate the structure and function of proteins, in particular proteins of the Bacillus species. Because only a limited number of proteins of Bacillus species organisms are involved in the synthesis and degradation of spores and have been characterized to date, this genome-based analysis may provide new insights into the developmental processes of bacterial organism.
Topics: Bacillus; Bacterial Proteins; Genome, Bacterial; Models, Molecular; Protein Conformation; Sequence Analysis, Protein; Species Specificity; Spores, Bacterial; Structure-Activity Relationship
PubMed: 12870714
DOI: 10.1080/713609234 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Jul 2013Increasing concerns over limited petroleum resources and associated environmental problems are motivating the development of efficient cell factories to produce... (Review)
Review
Increasing concerns over limited petroleum resources and associated environmental problems are motivating the development of efficient cell factories to produce chemicals, fuels, and materials from renewable resources in an environmentally sustainable economical manner. Bacillus spp., the best characterized Gram-positive bacteria, possesses unique advantages as a host for producing microbial enzymes and industrially important biochemicals. With appropriate modifications to heterologous protein expression and metabolic engineering, Bacillus species are favorable industrial candidates for efficiently converting renewable resources to microbial enzymes, fine chemicals, bulk chemicals, and fuels. Here, we summarize the recent advances in developing Bacillus spp. as a cell factory. We review the available genetic tools, engineering strategies, genome sequence, genome-scale structure models, proteome, and secretion pathways, and we list successful examples of enzymes and industrially important biochemicals produced by Bacillus spp. Furthermore, we highlight the limitations and challenges in developing Bacillus spp. as a robust and efficient production host, and we discuss in the context of systems and synthetic biology the emerging opportunities and future research prospects in developing Bacillus spp. as a microbial cell factory.
Topics: Bacillus; Bacterial Proteins; Biofuels; Industrial Microbiology; Synthetic Biology
PubMed: 23749118
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-013-4960-4