title: What sets Bacillus anthracis apart from other Bacillus species?
abstract: Bacillus anthracis is the cause of anthrax, and two large plasmids are essential for toxicity: pXO1, which contains the toxin genes, and pXO2, which encodes a capsule. B. anthracis forms a highly monomorphic lineage within the B. cereus group, but strains of Bacillus thuringiensis and B. cereus exist that are genetically closely related to the B. anthracis cluster. During the past five years B. cereus strains that contain the pXO1 virulence plasmid were discovered, and strains with both pXO1 and pXO2 have been isolated from great apes in Africa. Therefore, the presence of pXO1 and pXO2 no longer principally separates B. anthracis from other Bacilli. The B. anthracis lineage carries a specific mutation in the global regulator PlcR, which controls the transcription of secreted virulence factors in B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. Coevolution of the B. anthracis chromosome with its plasmids may be the basis for the successful development and uniqueness of the B. anthracis lineage.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Microbial Dynamics and Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway. a.b.kolsto@farmasi.uio.no
authors.forename: Anne-Brit
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kolstø
authors.forename: Nicolas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Tourasse
authors.forename: Ole Andreas
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Økstad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D010957:Plasmids; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C099480:PlcR protein, Bacillus; D015534:Trans-Activators; D037521:Virulence Factors