Bacterial spores remain dormant and highly resistant to environmental stress until they germinate. Completion of germination requires the degradation of spore cortex peptidoglycan by germination-specific lytic enzymes (GSLEs). Bacillus anthracis has four GSLEs: CwlJ1, CwlJ2, SleB, and SleL. In this study, the cooperative action of all four GSLEs in vivo was investigated by combining in-frame de...

BACKGROUND Bacillus anthracis is a pathogen that causes life-threatening disease--anthrax. B. anthracis spores are highly resistant to extreme temperatures and harsh chemicals. Inactivation of B. anthracis spores is important to ensure the environmental safety and public health. The 2001 bioterrorism attack involving anthrax spores has brought acute public attention and triggered extensive rese...

The use of Bacillus anthracis as a biological weapon in 2001 heightened awareness of the need for validated methods for the inactivation of B. anthracis spores. This study determined the gamma irradiation dose for inactivating virulent B. anthracis spores in suspension and its effects on real-time PCR and antigen detection assays. Strains representing eight genetic groups of B. anthracis were e...

A transposon site hybridization (TraSH) assay was developed for functional analysis of the Bacillus anthracis genome using a mini-Tn10 transposon which permitted analysis of 82% of this pathogen's genes. The system, used to identify genes required for generation of infectious anthrax spores, spore germination, and optimal growth on rich medium, was predictive of the contributions of two conserv...

Anthrax is a worldwide zoonosis of herbivores, which is caused by the spore-forming bacteria Bacillus anthracis, and humans become infected when they are exposed to infected animals and their tissues or the organism directly. In this report, we present a 13-year-old boy who developed eyelid anthrax after contact with a sheep carcass during his summer holiday that resulted in eyelid anthrax and ...

abstract snp typing is now a well-established genotyping system in bacillus anthracis studies. in the original standard method of van erth, snps at 13 loci of the b. anthracis genome were analyzed. in order to simplify and make appropriate this expensive method to low-budget laboratory settings, 13 primer pairs targeting the 13 corresponding snps were designed. besides, a universal pcr protocol...

In some Bacillus species, manganese levels influence the resistance properties of spores. To determine if this was true for Bacillus cereus, bacteria were sporulated with different MnCl2 concentrations resulting in spores with 30-fold differences in core Mn 2+ levels. Spores with different Mn 2+ levels displayed no differences in resistance to dry heat, UV radiation, γ-radiation, or hydrogen pe...

Spores of Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, and the closely related species Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis, possess an exosporium, which is the outermost structure surrounding the mature spore. It consists of a paracrystalline basal layer and a hair-like outer layer. To date, the structural contribution of only one exosporium component, the collagen-like glycopro...

Spores of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, are known to persist in the host lungs for prolonged periods of time, however the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that BclA, a major surface protein of B. anthracis spores, mediated direct binding of complement factor H (CFH) to spores. The surface bound CFH retained its regulatory cofactor a...

To isolate and detect anthrax spores from soil in different regions of Isfahan, Iran a total of 60 environmental specimens were collected during 2003. Bacterial endospores were extracted via flotation in distilled water and were cultured on blood agar and selective PLET media. Bacillus anthracis was identified using bacteriological and biological tests. Viable Bacillus anthracis spores were iso...