Spx of Bacillus subtilis is a redox-sensitive protein, which, under disulfide stress, interacts with RNA polymerase to activate genes required for maintaining thiol homeostasis. Spx orthologs are highly conserved among low %GC Gram-positive bacteria, and often exist in multiple paralogous forms. In this study, we used B. anthracis Sterne, which harbors two paralogous spx genes, spxA1 and spxA2,...

UNLABELLED D-Glutamate is an essential component of bacterial peptidoglycan and a building block of the poly-γ-D-glutamic acid (PDGA) capsule of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Earlier work suggested that two glutamate racemases, encoded by racE1 and racE2, are each essential for growth of B. anthracis, supplying D-glutamic acid for the synthesis of peptidoglycan and PDGA ca...

Bacillus anthracis spores are the infectious form of the organism for humans and animals. However, the approved human vaccine in the United States is derived from a vegetative culture filtrate of a toxigenic, nonencapsulated B. anthracis strain that primarily contains protective antigen (PA). Immunization of mice with purified spore proteins and formalin-inactivated spores (FIS) from a nonencap...

Anthrax toxin and capsule, determinants for successful infection by Bacillus anthracis, are encoded on the virulence plasmids pXO1 and pXO2, respectively. Each of these plasmids also encodes proteins that are highly homologous to the signal sensor domain of a chromosomally encoded major sporulation sensor histidine kinase (BA2291) in this organism. B. anthracis Sterne overexpressing the plasmid...

AIMS The Cepheid GeneXpert is a four-site, automated sample preparation and real-time PCR detection system. In this study, the capability of the GeneXpert to isolate and detect nucleic acid from Bacillus anthracis Ames spores was assessed. METHODS AND RESULTS A four-plex, dried-down bead cartridge containing PCR reagents specific for the pXO1 and pXO2 plasmids as well as sample processing and...

The recent exposures to Bacillus anthracis have highlighted certain issues that are unclear, especially the time frame for which spores could reside in the lungs, the dose, and their potential to subsequently cause a lethal outcome. It is important to find a technique that will allow for visual monitoring of the entire infection process of anthrax in real time to get a better understanding of t...

BACKGROUND Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, a Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium. The presence of the bacteria and the toxins in the blood of infected hosts trigger a cascade of pathological events leading to death. Nine medicinal plants with good activities against other bacteria were selected to determine their in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacillus ant...

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax and is classified as a 'Category A' biological weapon. Six complete genomes of B. anthracis (A0248, Ames, Ames Ancestor, CDC684, H0491, and Sterne) are currently available. In this report, we add three African strain genomes: Sen2Col2, Sen3 and Gmb1. To study the pan-genome of B. anthracis, we used bioinformatics tools, such as Cluster of Ort...

Rapid and accurate detection of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, remains an active area of research due to the continued threat of bioterrorist attack. The ability to differentiate Bacillus anthracis spores from spores belonging to other Bacillus species is important for the development of spore-based detection methods. Furthermore, not all Bacillus anthracis strains are full...