A pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method was developed for discriminating Bacillus anthracis from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. A worldwide collection of 25 B. anthracis isolates showed high-profile homology, and these isolates were unambiguously distinguished from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis isolates by cluster analysis of the whole-genome macrorestriction enzyme digestion pattern...

A Bacillus anthracis strain was isolated from a burial-site in Pollino National Park where a bovine died of anthrax and was buried in 2004. We report the first genome sequence of B. anthracis isolated in the Basilicata region (southern Italy), which is the highest risk area of anthrax infection in Italy.

All Bacillus spores are encased in macromolecular shells. One of these is a proteinacious shell called the coat that, in Bacillus subtilis, provides critical protective functions. The Bacillus anthracis spore is the infectious particle for the disease anthrax. Therefore, the coat is of particular interest because it may provide essential protective functions required for the appearance of anthr...

A phage, designated CP-51, that carries out generalized transduction in Bacillus cereus and B. anthracis, has recently been isolated from soil. Transducing phages for members of the genus Bacillus have been described previously for B. subtilis and B. licheniformis (2-6). Those that have been best characterized are PBS-1 for B. subtilis (4) and SP-10 and SP-15 for both B. subtilis and B. licheni...

Fubra, Ernest S. (Federal Department of Veterinary Research, Vom, Nigeria). Nonproteolytic, avirulent Bacillus anthracis as a live vaccine. J. Bacteriol. 91:930-933. 1966.-A nonproteolytic mutant, derived from the Sterne strain of Bacillus anthracis by exposure to ultraviolet radiation, was used for vaccination of guinea pigs. Vaccine prepared from the parent Sterne strain was used in comparabl...

Anthrax remains an important but relatively neglected disease of animals and humans. Its control in animals can be easily achieved by employing available vaccines. It is highly preventable in animals as well as humans. However, poverty, lack of information and appropriate medical support in the poor endemic areas of the world are some of the major obstacles in its control. We hypothesize that s...

Many genes in Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis are under the control of the transcriptional regulator PlcR and its regulatory peptide, PapR. In Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, PlcR is inactivated by truncation, and consequently genes having PlcR binding sites are expressed at very low levels when compared with B. cereus. We found that activation of the PlcR regulon...

Bacillus anthracis is nonhemolytic, even though it is closely related to the highly hemolytic Bacillus cereus. Hemolysis by B. cereus results largely from the action of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) and sphingomyelinase (SPH), encoded by the plc and sph genes, respectively. In B. cereus, these genes are organized in an operon regulated by the global regulator PlcR. B. an...

Outbreaks of Bacillus anthracis in animals are repeatedly reported in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study soil samples were analysed from endemic regions of the country, and B. anthracis isolates were identified by classical bacteriological and biochemical methods. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was also developed as an alternative for identification of isolates, and ...

Here we announce a 3.0-Mb assembly of the Bacillus coagulans Hammer strain, which is the type strain of the species within the genus Bacillus. Genomic analyses based on the sequence may provide insights into the phylogeny of the species and help to elucidate characteristics of the poorly studied strains of Bacillus coagulans.