Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis—One Species on the Basis of Genetic Evidence |
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Authors: | Erlendur Helgason, Ole Andreas
kstad, Dominique A. Caugant, Henning A. Johansen, Agnes Fouet, Mich le Mock, Ida Hegna, Anne-Brit Kolst |
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Affiliation: | Erlendur Helgason, Ole Andreas Økstad, Dominique A. Caugant, Henning A. Johansen, Agnes Fouet, Michéle Mock, Ida Hegna, and Anne-Brit Kolstø |
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Abstract: | Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis are members of the Bacillus cereus group of bacteria, demonstrating widely different phenotypes and pathological effects. B. anthracis causes the acute fatal disease anthrax and is a potential biological weapon due to its high toxicity. B. thuringiensis produces intracellular protein crystals toxic to a wide number of insect larvae and is the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. B. cereus is a probably ubiquitous soil bacterium and an opportunistic pathogen that is a common cause of food poisoning. In contrast to the differences in phenotypes, we show by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and by sequence analysis of nine chromosomal genes that B. anthracis should be considered a lineage of B. cereus. This determination is not only a formal matter of taxonomy but may also have consequences with respect to virulence and the potential of horizontal gene transfer within the B. cereus group. |
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