title: Phenotypic and genotypic comparisons of 23 strains from the Bacillus cereus complex for a selection of known and putative B. thuringiensis virulence factors.
abstract: Sixteen Bacillus thuringiensis, four Bacillus cereus and three Bacillus anthracis isolates were screened for a selection of known and putative B. thuringiensis virulence factors. PCR primers were designed to detect genes for phosphatidylcholine specific phospholipase C, phosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase C, immune inhibitor A, vegetative insecticidal protein 3A, a protein proposed to be involved in capsule synthesis, a newly identified Ser/Thr kinase homologue and enterotoxin entS. Motility, the presence of flagella, haemolysis, chitinase and lecithinase production were also evaluated. The widely varying profiles of the 23 strains from the complex provide a pool of different genotypes that can help to identify factors involved in pathogenicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, CB2 1GA, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Guttmann
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ellar
mesh_terms: D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins