Genome differences that distinguish Bacillus anthracis from Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis.
The three species of the group 1 bacilli, Bacillus anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis, are genetically very closely related. All inhabit soil habitats but exhibit different phenotypes. B. anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax and is phylogenetically monomorphic, while B. cereus and B. thuringiensis are genetically more diverse. An amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis described here demonstrates genetic diversity among a collection of non-anthrax-causing Bacillus species, some of which show significant similarity to B. anthracis. Suppression subtractive hybridization was then used to characterize the genomic differences that distinguish three of the non-anthrax-causing bacilli from B. anthracis Ames. Ninety-three DNA sequences that were present in B. anthracis but absent from the non-anthrax-causing Bacillus genomes were isolated. Furthermore, 28 of these sequences were not found in a collection of 10 non-anthrax-causing Bacillus species but were present in all members of a representative collection of B. anthracis strains. These sequences map to distinct loci on the B. anthracis genome and can be assayed simultaneously in multiplex PCR assays for rapid and highly specific DNA-based detection of B. anthracis.
Biology and Biotechnology Research Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94551, USA.
Lyndsay
L
Radnedge
Peter G
PG
Agron
Karen K
KK
Hill
Paul J
PJ
Jackson
Lawrence O
LO
Ticknor
Paul
P
Keim
Gary L
GL
Andersen
D001407:Bacillus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000235:genetics*; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D013045:Species Specificity
D004269:DNA, Bacterial