Bacillus clausii

From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Bacillus clausii

Classification

Higher order taxa

Eubacteria (kingdom); Bacteria (domain); Firmicutes (phylum); Bacilli (class); Bacillales (order); Bacillaceae (family); Bacillus (genus)

Species

Bacillus clausii

Description and significance

Describe the appearance, habitat, etc. of the organism, and why it is important enough to have its genome sequenced. Describe how and where it was isolated. Include a picture or two (with sources) if you can find them.


Bacillus clausii is Gram positive, motile, spore-forming and like most of the Bacillus bacteria, it is rod-shaped. Colonies of B. clausii form filamentous margins that appear cream-white in color. B. clausii is alkaliphilic and produces a class of subtilisins known as high-alkaline proteases. The protease from Bacillus clausii strain 221, the H-221 protease, was the first enzyme to be identified in an alkaliphilic Bacillus. [Kageyama] The alkaliphilic nature of the organism has also proved it to be useful in preventing and treating various gastrointestinal disorders as an oral bacteriotherapy. [Senesi] This organism can be found in many alkaline environments, including soil and marine habitat.

The B. clausii strain KSM-K16 was obtained from soil samples, and its phylogenic position as a member of B. clausii was identified using Bacillus clausii DSM8716 as a reference strain. The techniques used to determine the classification included 16S rRNA sequencing, which directly compares two or more strains of rRNA sequences to determine sequence homology. Other classification techniques including fatty acid analysis, which identifies fatty acids in the membrane, and carbohydrate utilization tests, which establish the metabolic characteristics of the organism. Growth of KSM-K16 was observed in the temperature range of 15-50°C and the pH range of 7-10.5, with optimal growth at 40°C and pH 9.0. The KSM-K16 strain produces the high-alkaline protease, M-protease, which is hyperproduced by a mutant to be used in industrial scale compact heavy-duty laundry detergent. This protease, amoung other enzymes utilized by B. clausii organisms, are being extensively studied to understand their ability to function in such alkaline conditions for possible biotechnology use, making the genome of B. clausii a necessary tool.[Kageyama]


http://www.springerlink.com/content/f6h65u65125t4811/fulltext.html http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=92655

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7632397

Genome structure

Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence? Does it have any plasmids? Are they important to the organism's lifestyle?

The Bacillus clausii KSM-K16 complete genome is one circular chromosome composed of 4,303,871 nucleotides. The genome represents 4204 genes, of which 4096 are protein coding and 96 code for RNAs. The GC content of B. clausii KSM-K16 is 44%.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=genome&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Overview&list_uids=565

Cell structure and metabolism

Describe any interesting features and/or cell structures; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Bacillus clausii is gram-positive, meaning it is surrounded by a thick cell wall. The cell wall is made up of the peptidoglycan murien. This tough cell wall surrounded by teichoic and lipoteichoic acids acts as protection for the cell and helps maintain cell shape.

Ecology

Describe any interactions with other organisms (included eukaryotes), contributions to the environment, effect on environment, etc.

Pathology

None?

Application to Biotechnology

Does this organism produce any useful compounds or enzymes? What are they and how are they used?

B. clausii genome sequence is being studied for its importance in biotechnology:

"[Bacillus clausii and other relatives] are now being investigated in order to better understand the physiology, biochemistry, and especially molecular genetics underlying the behavior of alkaliphilic bacteria . Most of the studies have been performed to examine enzyme biotechnology, as alkaliphilic Bacillus strains produce enzymes, such as xylanases, cellulases, amylases, and proteases, that are very useful in industry and domestic life" [Senesi]

B. clausii strain KSM-K16 is especially useful for its production of M-protease. Like other Bacillus organisms, KSM-K16 secretes its protease directly into the medium. This M-protease is used in heavy-duty detergents to remove protein containing spots from laundry. 'B. clausii produce their proteases in response to low nutrient conditions, the stage between exponential growth and stationary phase, known as sporulation.


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T3C-45V6TSC-1&_user=4429&_coverDate=08%2F28%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000059602&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=4429&md5=cc5f4af305064bed7d0f6549b332be41


Alkaline proteases are currently finding new uses, including their usage to create useful biomass from fibrous proteins such as horn, feather or hair. A couple other uses include hydrolysis of gelatine layers of X-ray films and the recovery of silver.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-2672.2003.02153.x?cookieSet=1

The spores of B. clausii and other related Bacilli are used as probiotics to improve the intestinal microbial balance. Probiotic-containing treatments are available for human nutrition, animal feed supplements, and also for aquaculture. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/botrender.fcgi?blobtype=html&artid=383048

Current Research

Enter summaries of the most recent research here--at least three required

http://www.springerlink.com/content/f6h65u65125t4811/fulltext.htmlz  : Kageyama focuses on classifying a new species of Bacillus, Bacillus clausii, by implementing various analyzing techniques to illustrate the difference of the new species.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15299321&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=30&itool=pubmed_docsum :

"An alkaline serine protease, M-protease, from Bacillus sp. KSM-K16 has been crystallized. Two morphologically different crystal forms were obtained." The M-protease is structurally similar to two new found proteases in this organism.

References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.


Though not formally written in here, the references have been marked throughout so far to make sure I know where I obtained each source.

Edited by Ankur Patel of Rachel Larsen and Kit Pogliano