Outbreaks of Bacillus anthracis in animals are repeatedly reported in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study soil samples were analysed from endemic regions of the country, and B. anthracis isolates were identified by classical bacteriological and biochemical methods. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was also developed as an alternative for identification of isolates, and ...

During inhalational anthrax, Bacillus anthracis survives and replicates in alveolar macrophages, followed by rapid invasion into the host's bloodstream, where it multiplies to cause heavy bacteremia. B. anthracis must therefore defend itself from host immune functions encountered during both the intracellular and the extracellular stages of anthrax infection. In both of these niches, cationic a...

Bacillus anthracis is an endemic soil bacterium that exhibits two different lifestyles. In the soil environment, B. anthracis undergoes a cycle of saprophytic growth, sporulation, and germination. In mammalian hosts, the pathogenic lifestyle of B. anthracis is spore germination followed by vegetative cell replication, but cells do not sporulate. During infection, and in specific culture conditi...

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...

Bacillus anthracis is a spore-forming, Gram-positive microorganism. It is a causative agent of anthrax, a highly infectious disease. It belongs to the "Bacillus cereus group", which contains other closely related species, including Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus weihenstephanensis, and Bacillus pseudomycoides. B. anthracis naturally occurs in soil environme...

OBJECTIVES Bacillus anthracis as the bacterial agent of anthrax, is spread in different geographical zones around the world.The purpose of this survey was to observe eventual apoptotic reactions in total genomic DNA of UVB irradiated colonies of Bacillus anthracis. MATERIALS AND METHODS The colonies of Bacillus anthracis were exposed to UVB ray for 10 minutes; then, the DNA molecules of contr...

The incidence of anthrax, which is caused by Bacillus anthracis, in the human and animal population of Mongolia has increased recently, and control of this infection is a nationwide concern. In this study, 29 isolates obtained from animals and various regions in Mongolia from 2001 to 2007 were analyzed by performing multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis for 8 loci (MLVA-8) to un...

Bacillus anthracis spores cause natural infections and are used as biological weapons. Inhalation infection with B. anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is almost always lethal, yet cutaneous infections usually remain localized and resolve spontaneously. Neutrophils are typically recruited to cutaneous but seldom to other forms of anthrax infections, raising the possibility that neutrop...

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a glycerol phosphate polymer, is a component of the envelope of Gram-positive bacteria that has hitherto not been identified in Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. LTA synthesis in Staphylococcus aureus and other microbes is catalyzed by the product of the ltaS gene, a membrane protein that polymerizes polyglycerol phosphate from phosphatidyl glycerol. H...

The primary goal of this study was to determine the conditions required for the effective inactivation of Bacillus anthracis spores on materials by using methyl bromide (MeBr) gas. Another objective was to obtain comparative decontamination efficacy data with three avirulent microorganisms to assess their potential for use as surrogates for B. anthracis Ames. Decontamination tests were conducte...