We demonstrate for the first time, an expression system mimicking serine alkaline protease synthesis and secretion, producing native form of human growth hormone (hGH) from Bacillus subtilis. A hybrid-gene of two DNA fragments, i.e., signal (pre-) DNA sequence of B. licheniformis serine alkaline protease gene (subC) and cDNA encoding hGH, were cloned into pMK4 and expressed under deg-promoter i...

With several different vectors, attempts were made to establish blaZ, a Staphylococcus aureus beta-lactamase gene, in Bacillus subtilis. Stable establishment of blaZ in B. subtilis was achieved by use of a vector that allowed the integration of a single copy of the gene into the chromosome of that host. blaZ was expressed in the heterologous host since B. subtilis strains carrying integrated bl...

Predatory behavior, a property associated with ecosystems, is not commonly observed in microorganisms. However, cannibalistic tendencies have been observed in microorganisms under stress. For example, pure culture of Bacillus subtilis exhibits cannibalism under nutrient limitation. It has been proposed that a fraction of cells in the population produce Spo0A, a regulatory protein that is respon...

Protoplasts of Bacillus larvae NRRL b-3555 and Bacillus subtilis RM125 (restrictionless, modificationless mutant) were transfected with DNA from the B. larvae bacteriophage PBL1c in the presence of polyethylene glycol. B. subtilis 168 and Bacillus popilliae NRRL B-2309M protoplasts could not be transfected with PBL1c DNA. Protoplasts of B larvae NRRL B-3555 were transformed with plasmids pC194 ...

Beneficial bacteria have been shown to affect host longevity, but the molecular mechanisms mediating such effects remain largely unclear. Here we show that formation of Bacillus subtilis biofilms increases Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan. Biofilm-proficient B. subtilis colonizes the C. elegans gut and extends worm lifespan more than biofilm-deficient isogenic strains. Two molecules produced by ...

Maari is a spontaneously alkaline fermented food condiment made from baobab tree seeds. Due to the spontaneous nature of maari fermentations growth of the opportunistic human pathogen Bacillus cereus is occasionally observed. Bacillus subtilis strains are important for alkaline seed fermentations because of their enzymatic activities contributing to desirable texture, flavor and pH development....

Eight strains of highly amylolytic, sporeforming bacilli (hereafter referred to as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) were compared with respect to their taxonomic relationship to B. subtilis. The physiological-biochemical properties of these two groups of organisms showed that B. amyloliquefaciens differed from B. subtilis by their ability to grow in 10% NaCl, characteristic growth on potato plugs, i...

BACKGROUND One of the most important producers of high quality industrial enzymes is the Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis (B. Subtilis). One major limitation that hinders the wide application of B. subtilis is the secretion of high levels of extracellular proteases which degrade the secreted foreign proteins. In this study, homologus recombination technique was used to knock out its p...

Escherichia coli possesses only one essential oligoribonuclease (Orn), an enzyme that can degrade oligoribonucleotides of five residues and shorter in length (nanoRNA). Firmicutes including Bacillus subtilis do not have an Orn homolog. We had previously identified YtqI (NrnA) as functional analog of Orn in B. subtilis. Screening a genomic library from B. subtilis for genes that can complement a...

A recently cloned Bacillus subtilis open reading frame (hemN) upstream of the dnaK operon was identified as encoding a protein involved in oxygen-independent coproporphyrinogen III decarboxylation. B. subtilis hemN functionally complemented two Salmonella typhimurium hemF hemN double mutants under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A B. subtilis hemN mutant accumulated coproporphyrinogen III onl...