The International Bacillus anthracis , B. cereus , and B. thuringiensis Conference, “ Bacillus -ACT05”

Abstract

4The International Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis Conference, heretofore known as the "The Bacillus ACT Meeting" was held 25 to 29 September 2005 in Santa Fe, N.Mex. The conference represented a union of two meetings previously known as the International Conference on Anthrax and the International Workshop on the Molecular Biology of Bacillus cereus, B. anthracis, and B. thuringiensis. The mission of the Bacillus ACT05 Meeting was to bring together researchers involved in scientific research related to the physiology, genetics, molecular biology, and pathogenesis of these closely related bacteria.Evidence of new research efforts concerning the B. cereus group species, fueled in part by global concerns related to bioterrorism, was apparent at the previous joint meeting held in the spring of 2003 in Nice, France. Two and one-half years later, fruits of these efforts were realized. New knowledge of host-pathogen interactions was apparent in many sessions of the 2005 conference. Investigations of the anthrax toxin remained a vital component of the meeting. Reports of toxininduced physiopathological changes and the innate immune response were emphasized and debated. New information regarding the structure and function of edema toxin, previously overshadowed by studies of lethal toxin, was presented. In addition, data from various animal models of infection generated discussions of species-and strain-specific responses.While numerous presentations focused on B. anthracis, considerable time was also spent on other species of the B. cereus group, and important similarities and differences in the species were revealed. The ecology of these species, a long-neglected area of investigation, gained attention at the meeting, which included reports concerning lifestyles of the bacteria in the soil and in the insect gut. The B. anthracis genomics explosion has had a major impact on research in all three species. Genomics not only has permitted delineation of phylogenetic trees comprised of B. cereus group strains, but has fostered generation of new hypotheses regarding specific physiological differences within the group. The innovative molecular epidemiology tools developed for B. anthracis will have broad application for analysis of other bacterial species. Finally, considerable interest in spore structure has emerged. The composition and function of the exosporium, an outer coating specific to the surface of spores of the B. cereus group, were queried and deliberated.Approximately 350 participants representing over 20 countries gathered to discuss 213 oral and poster presentations. This meeting report is limited primarily to highlights of oral presentations.

Role of bacteria in marine barite precipitation: A case study using Mediterranean seawater

“…Samples were prepared using the CO 2 critical point method. 2006; Keim et al, 2006;Ki et al, 2009;Porob et al, 2013;Lekunberri et al, 2014). The genus Bacillus, within the Firmicutes, is one of the most frequently isolated from marine waters (Eilers et al, 2000).…”

Direct Identification of a Bacterial Manganese(II) Oxidase, the Multicopper Oxidase MnxG, from Spores of Several Different Marine Bacillus Species

“…3a), perhaps suggesting that the N terminus is either not translated (i.e., an internal start codon is used), posttranslationally modified, or resistant to trypsin digestion. The lack of coverage of MnxG can likely be explained at least in part by the low abundance of the Mn(II) oxidase; there is no Coomassie blue- (23).…”