Comparative Genome Analysis of Bacillus sporothermodurans with Its Closest Phylogenetic Neighbor, Bacillus oleronius, and Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis Groups

Abstract

Bacillus sporothermodurans currently possesses one of the most highly heat-resistant spores (HRS), which can withstand ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing. Determination of multiple whole genome sequences of B. sporothermodurans provided an opportunity to perform the first comparative genome analysis between strains and with B. oleronius, B. cereus, and B. subtilis groups. In this study, five whole genome sequences of B. sporothermodurans strains, including those belonging to the HRS clone (SAD and BR12) normally isolated from UHT milk, were compared with the aforementioned Bacillus species for gene clusters responsible for heat resistance. In the phylogenomic analysis, B. sporothermodurans, with its closest phylogenetic neighbor, B. oleronius, clustered with B. thermoamylovorans and B. thermotolerans. Heat shock proteins GrpE, GroES, GroEL, and DnaK presented identical sequences for all B. sporothermodurans strains, indicating that differences in functional efficiency are not involved in the thermal resistance variations. However, comparing all species evaluated, B. sporothermodurans exhibited a different gene configuration in the chromosomal region of the heat shock protein GrpE. Furthermore, only B. sporothermodurans strains presented the stage II sporulation protein P gene located in this region. Multisequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the ClpB protein showed differences for HRS and non-HRS strains. The study identified ClpC, ClpE, and ClpX as the three ATPases putatively involved in protein disaggregation in B. sporothermodurans. Bacillussporothermodurans exhibits high homology with other Bacillus species in the DnaK, DnaJ, GroEL, and GroES cluster of genes involved in heat resistance. The data presented here pave the way to select and evaluate the phenotypic effects of genes putatively involved in heat resistance.

Identification of Mesophylic Bacterial Flora in Deceased Worker Adults of Apis mellifera caucasia (Pollmann, 1889)

“…We also agree with Strejcek et al (2018) that the relationship between whole-cell mass spectra, the average nucleotide identity of orthologous genes, and biological reproducibility issues, need to be addressed in the future to maximise the benefits of similarity-based and reference-free approaches. We agree with Shivaji et al and others that Bacillus is a heterogeneous genus, and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis is not enough to clarify the strains to species level (Shivajii et al, 2009;Jeyaram et al, 2011;Owusu-Darko et al, 2020). Despite the high similarity in the 16S RNA gene sequence, many Bacillus species can differ in their phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics.…”

Whole genome sequence analyses of thermotolerant Bacillus sp. isolates from food

“…Both strains are resistant to heat treatment at 60°C for at least 48 h. Therefore, it is interesting to study their genomic profiles, especially those related to heat responses such as heat shock gene clusters. Several emerging highly heat-resistant Bacillus species have been previously classified including B. thermoamylovorans , B. sporothermodurans , and B. cytotoxicus NVH 391-98 [ 16 , 28 , 29 ]. B. sporothermodurans can significantly affect the quality of heat-processed foods since it is able to form heat-resistant spores that can survive in foods treated with ultra-high temperatures [ 16 ].…”

“…Through complete genome sequencing of Bacillus halotolerans , tolerance potential to drought and salt stress was revealed [ 15 ]. Comparative genome analysis of Bacillus sporothermodurans allowed for characterization of the genes involved in heat resistance [ 16 ]. Key genes with insect resistance functions in Bacillus thuringiensis were characterized by complete genome sequencing, thereby providing genetic information for the development of potential bioinsecticides [ 17 ].…”

Comparative Genome Analysis of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Focusing on Phylogenomics, Functional Traits, and Prevalence of Antimicrobial and Virulence Genes

“…Versatility of nature and metabolic competencies of different strains of B. amyloliquefaciens provoke to expedite the comparative genomic analysis to address more in detail the life style of bacteria, their adaptation to various niches and how they overcome contenders, as well as to catch clear revelation on their biochemistry, physiology, and genetics ( Sharma and Satyanarayana, 2013 ; Owusu-Darko et al, 2020 ). B. amyloliquefaciens have been known to promote plant growth via a variety of mechanisms ( Baghaee Ravari and Heidarzadeh, 2014 ; Shao et al, 2015 ; Liu et al, 2016 ), act as biocontrol against numerous plant diseases caused by soil-borne microorganisms ( Tan et al, 2016 ), be widely used as biofertilizers and biopesticides ( Wu et al, 2015 ), antagonize plant pathogens by competing essential nutrient ( Wu et al, 2016 ), produce antibiotic compounds ( Srivastava et al, 2016 ), as well induce systemic acquired resistance ( Ng et al, 2016 ).…”