Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are an important antimicrobial additive in many industrial applications. However, mass-produced ZnO NPs are ultimately disposed of in the environment, which can threaten soil-dwelling microorganisms that play important roles in biodegradation, nutrient recycling, plant protection, and ecological balance. This study sought to understand how ZnO NPs affect Bacil...

This review focuses on the enzymes and pathways of RNA processing and degradation in Bacillus subtilis, and compares them to those of its gram-negative counterpart, Escherichia coli. A comparison of the genomes from the two organisms reveals that B. subtilis has a very different selection of RNases available for RNA maturation. Of 17 characterized ribonuclease activities thus far identified in ...

The 3' end of the small ribosomal RNAs (ssu rRNA) in bacteria is directly involved in the selection and binding of mRNA transcripts during translation initiation via well-documented interactions between a Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence located upstream of the initiation codon and an anti-SD (aSD) sequence at the 3' end of the ssu rRNA. Consequently, the 3' end of ssu rRNA (3'TAIL) is strongly con...

D-optimal design and Projection to Latent Structures (PLS) analysis were used to optimize screening hit 5 (B. subtilis AcpS IC(50): 15 microM, B. subtilis MIC: >200 microM) into a series of 4H-oxazol-5-one, small molecule, antibacterial, AcpS inhibitors. Specifically, 15, 16 and 18 show microM or sub-microM AcpS inhibition (IC(50)s: 15: 1.1 microM, 16: 1.5 microM, 18: 0.27 microM) and moderate ...

Saccharomyces bailii was isolated from two-thirds of the spoiled mayonnaise and salad dressing samples examined. Most of the rest were spoiled by Lactobacillus fructivorans. However, one sample contained large numbers of both S. bailii and L. plantarum. Two of the spoiled samples also contained small numbers of bacilli. Bacillus subtilis, B. pumilis, B. polymyxa, B. megaterium, and B. lichenifo...

BACKGROUND The genome of the important industrial host Bacillus subtilis does not encode the glyoxylate shunt, which is necessary to utilize overflow metabolites, like acetate or acetoin, as carbon source. In this study, the operon encoding the isocitrate lyase (aceB) and malate synthase (aceA) from Bacillus licheniformis was transferred into the chromosome of B. subtilis. The resulting strain ...

In the facultatively anaerobic bacterium Bacillus licheniformis a gene encoding a protein of the fumarate nitrate reductase family of transcriptional regulators (Fnr) was isolated. Unlike Fnr proteins from gram-negative bacteria, but like Fnr from Bacillus subtilis, the protein contained a C-terminal cluster of cysteine residues. Unlike in Fnr from B. subtilis, this cluster (Cys226-X2-Cys229-X4...

sigma(B), the general stress response sigma factor of Bacillus subtilis, is activated when the cell's energy levels decline or the bacterium is exposed to environmental stress (e.g., heat shock, ethanol). Physical stress activates sigma(B) through a collection of regulatory kinases and phosphatases (the Rsb proteins) which catalyze the release of sigma(B) from an anti-sigma(B) factor inhibitor....

Bacillus subtilis has found to respond the signals of environmental and metabolic stress by inducing over 40 general stress genes which are under the control of the sigma B transcription factor. Sigma B is an alternative sigma-factor in Bacillus subtilis. It mediates the response of the cell to a variety of physical insults. General stress response of Bacillus subtilis is regulated directly by ...