In a bioterrorism event, a tool is needed to rapidly differentiate Bacillus anthracis from other closely related spore-forming Bacillus species. During the recent outbreak of bioterrorism-associated anthrax, we sequenced the 16S rRNA generom these species to evaluate the potential of 16S rRNA gene sequencing as a diagnostic tool. We found eight distinct 16S types among all 107 16S rRNA gene seq...

Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus anthracis are closely related species belonging to the Bacillus cereus group. B. thuringiensis and B. cereus generally produce extracellular proteins, including phospholipases and hemolysins. Transcription of the genes encoding these factors is controlled by the pleiotropic regulator PlcR. Disruption of plcR in B. cereus and B. thuringiensis...

New and improved therapeutics are needed for Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax. To date, antimicrobial agents have not been developed against the well-validated target dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). In order to address whether DHFR inhibitors could have potential use as clinical agents against Bacillus, 27 compounds were screened against this enzyme from Bacillus cereus, whi...

In 1988, an outbreak of anthrax occurred among cattle in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Since then, Austria has been declared anthrax-free. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of one of these last outbreak strains, Bacillus anthracis Tyrol 4675, isolated from a diseased cow.

The soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is a pathogen of insects and nematodes and is very closely related to, if not the same species as, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis. The defining characteristic of B. thuringiensis that sets it apart from B. cereus and B. anthracis is the production of crystal (Cry) proteins, which are pore-forming toxins or pore-forming proteins (PFPs). Although ...

Bacillus spore surface morphology was imaged with atomic force microscopy (AFM) to determine if characteristic surface features could be used to distinguish between four closely related species; Bacillus anthracis Sterne strain, Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, Bacillus cereus strain 569, and Bacillus globigii var. niger. AFM surface height images showed an irregular topography across the ...

Bacillus anthracis BF-1 was isolated from a cow in Bavaria (Germany) that had succumbed to anthrax. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this strain, which belongs to the European B2 subclade of B. anthracis. The closest phylogenetic neighbor of strain BF-1 is a strain isolated from cattle in France.

In July 2012, an anthrax outbreak occurred among cattle in northern Germany resulting in ten losses. Here, we report the draft genome sequence ofBacillus anthracisstrain Stendal, isolated from one of the diseased cows.