We demonstrate that the cccB gene, identified in the Bacillus subtilis genome sequence project, is the structural gene for a 10-kDa membrane-bound cytochrome c(551) lipoprotein described for the first time in B. subtilis. Apparently, CccB corresponds to cytochrome c(551) of the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus PS3. The heme domain of B. subtilis cytochrome c(551) is very similar to that of cytoc...

A thermophilic Bacillus sp. strain 2-6 was used in completely open repeated batch fermentation for producing optically pure L-lactic acid. Up to 107 g l(-1) L-lactic acid of optical purity 99.8% was obtained with NaOH as pH regulator. Unexpectedly, accumulated cells did not necessarily lead to increased L-lactic acid production. Kinetic and viable cells analyses revealed that L-lactic acid prod...