Bacillus is an interesting genus to investigate since it produces a diverse array of antimicrobial peptides representing several different basic chemical structures. The production of bacteriocins or bacteriocinlike substance has already been described for B. substilis, B. stearothermophilus and other Bacillus sp. The present study assessed the effects of Bacillus cereus and its bacteriocin at ...

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Despite of improving levels of hygiene, the incidence of registered food borne diseases has been at the same level for many years: there were 40 to 90 epidemics in which 1000-9000 persons contracted food poisoning through food or drinking water in Finland. Until the year 2004 salmonella and campylobacter were the most common bacterial causes of food borne diseases, but in years 2005-2006 Bacill...

We present the genome sequence of Bacillus cereus LA2007, a strain isolated in 2007 from a fatal pneumonia case in Louisiana. Sequence-based genome analysis revealed that LA2007 carries a plasmid highly similar to Bacillus anthracis pXO1, including the genes responsible for the production and regulation of anthrax toxin.

Bacillus cereus UW85 was isolated from a root of a field-grown alfalfa plant from Arlington, WI, and identified for its ability to suppress damping off, a disease caused by Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. medicaginis on alfalfa. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of B. cereus UW85, obtained by a combination of Sanger and Illumina sequencing.

A derivative of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD1 (HD1-9) released transducing phage (TP21) from late exponential cultures. Three of seven markers tested were transduced into Bacillus cereus, but only two of these (cysC and trpB/F) were transduced at a frequency of more than 100 times the reversion rates. A limited transduction capacity was given further support in that few chromosomal...

The facultative anaerobe, Bacillus cereus, causes diarrheal diseases in humans. Its ability to deal with oxygen availability is recognized to be critical for pathogenesis. The B. cereus genome comprises a gene encoding a protein with high similarities to the redox regulator, Rex, which is a central regulator of anaerobic metabolism in Bacillus subtilis and other Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we...

Between April 2000 and May 2005, 350 bacteraemic episodes occurred among patients treated in our haematology unit. Two hundred and twenty-eight of these episodes were caused by Gram-positive pathogens, most commonly coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus. One hundred and twenty-two episodes were due to Gram-negative pathogens, with a predominance of Escherichia coli, Acineto...

AIMS To determine the mechanism of wet heat killing of spores of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus megaterium. METHODS AND RESULTS Bacillus cereus and B. megaterium spores wet heat-killed 82-99% gave two bands on equilibrium density gradient centrifugation. The lighter band was absent from spores that were not heat-treated and increased in intensity upon increased heating times. These spores lacke...