Brevibacillus-brevis

Classification

Domain: Bacteria, Phylum: Bacillota, Class: Bacilli, Order: Caryophanales

Species

NCBI: [1]

Brevibacllus brevis

Description and Significance

Brevibacillus-brevis is a rod shaped Gram-positive bacterium that inhabits air, soil, water, and decaying matter. This aerobic bacterium is motile and forms spores. This bacterium is medically significant as the antibiotics tyrocidine and gramicidin were first isolated from it. Brevibacillus-brevis is also an important nitrogen fixer, auxin and ammonia producer, antifungal, and antibacterial that is beneficially utilized in agriculture.

Genome Structure

The genome size of Brevibacillus-brevis is around 4-5 megabase pairs and is a single circular chromosome. In more detail it can be described as a gram-positive, rod-shaped and spore-forming.

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Brevibacillus brevis gains energy through aerobic respiration and it breaks down nutrients like glucose via glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. It can also ferment sugars under anaerobic conditions to generate ATP.

Brevibacillus-brevis is mainly found in the soil. It has the capability of forming antimicrobial chemical compounds, therefore it has been used in plants to test for any pathogenic strains. This can help improve the health of the soil and promote plant growth, which helps deter the use of chemically synthesized pesticides. Brevibacillus-brevis has a mutualistic interaction with microbes found in soil, in which it helps them promote nitrogen-fixing by assisting in the decomposition cycle.

Although Brevibacillus-brevis is found in soil, it is not considered an opportunistic pathogen. Due to this, it is rare for the bacteria to cause any illnesses in both humans and plants.

References

Soares, M.B., Almada, C.N., Pereira, E.P., Ferreira, B.M., Balthazar, C.F., Khorshidian, N., Rocha, R.S., Xavier-Santos, D., Cruz, A.G., Ranadheera, C.S. and Mortazavian, A.M., 2023. Sporeforming probiotic bacteria: Characteristics, health benefits, and technological aspects for their applications in foods and beverages. Trends in Food Science & Technology.

Yang, W., Yang, H., Bao, X., Hussain, M., Bao, Q., Zeng, Z., Xiao, C., Zhou, L. and Qin, X., 2023. Brevibacillus brevis HNCS-1: a biocontrol bacterium against tea plant diseases. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14, p.1198747.

Author

Page authored by Bodi Lowe, Nina Martin, Antonio Adetoye, & Alexis Tulli, students of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.