title: Genetic relationships between sympatric populations of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis, as revealed by rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting.
abstract: The bacterial strain Bacillus cereus is closely related to Bacillus thuringiensis, although any genetic relationship between the two strains is still in debate. Using rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting, we established the genetic relationships between Brazilian sympatric populations of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis simultaneously collected from two geographically separate sites. We observed the formation of both B. thuringiensis and B. cereus clusters, as well as strains of B. cereus that are more closely related to B. thuringiensis than to other B. cereus strains. In addition, lower genetic variability was observed among B. thuringiensis clusters compared to B. cereus clusters, indicating that either the two species should be categorized as separate or that B. thuringiensis may represent a clone from a B. cereus background.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Paula S
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Peruca
authors.forename: Gislayne T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Vilas-Bôas
authors.forename: O M N
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Arantes
mesh_terms: D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012988:Soil Microbiology