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bacillus

  (bə-sĭl'əs) pronunciation
n., pl. -cil·li (-sĭl'ī').
  1. Any of various rod-shaped, spore-forming, aerobic bacteria of the genus Bacillus that often occur in chains and include B. anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.
  2. Any of various bacteria, especially a rod-shaped bacterium.

[Late Latin, diminutive of Latin baculum, rod.]


 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: bacillus

Any of the rod-shaped, gram-positive bacteria (see gram stain) that make up the genus Bacillus, widely found in soil and water. The term is sometimes applied to all rodlike bacteria. Bacilli frequently occur in chains and can form spores under unfavourable environmental conditions. Resistant to heat, chemicals, and sunlight, these spores may remain capable of growing and developing for long periods of time. One type sometimes causes spoilage in canned foods. Another, widespread bacillus contaminates laboratory cultures and is often found on human skin. Most strains do not cause disease in humans, infecting them only incidentally in their role as soil organisms; a notable exception is B. anthracis, which causes anthrax. Some bacilli produce antibiotics.

For more information on bacillus, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: bacillus
(bəsĭl'əs) , any rod-shaped bacterium or, more particularly, a rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Bacillus. Some bacterium in the genus cause disease, for example B. anthracis is the cause of anthrax; others are useful in the production of antibiotics (e.g., gramicidin and bacitracin). Many organisms earlier classified as Bacillus species are now placed in different genera but continue to be referred to as baccili.

 
Veterinary Dictionary: bacillus

Pl. bacilli [L.]
1. an organism of the genus Bacillus.
2. any rod-shaped bacterium.

  • Battey b. — mycobacterium intracellulare.
  • Calmette–Guérin b. — mycobacterium bovis, rendered completely avirulent by cultivation over a long period on bile–glycerol–potato medium. See also bcg vaccine.
  • Friedländer's b. — klebsiella pneumoniae.
  • glanders b. — burkholderia mallei (previously Pseudomonas mallei).
  • Hansen's b. — mycobacterium leprae.
  • tubercle b. — mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • typhoid b. — salmonella typhi.
 
Gardener's Dictionary: Bacillus

A genus of biological insecticides that are generally nontoxic (although they can harm some beneficial insects such as butterfly larvae). Varieties of Bacillus thuringiensis (also called Bt) control caterpillars, cabbage worms, and mosquito larvae. B. papilliae, milky spore disease, controls Japanese beetle grubs.

 
Wikipedia: bacillus
Bacillus
Bacillus subtilis, Gram stained
Bacillus subtilis, Gram stained
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Bacteria
Division: Firmicutes
Class: Bacilli
Order: Bacillales
Family: Bacillaceae
Genus: Bacillus
Cohn 1872
Species

Bacillus anthracis
Bacillus cereus
Bacillus coagulans
Bacillus globigii
Bacillus licheniformis
Bacillus megaterium
Bacillus natto
Bacillus subtilis
Bacillus sphaericus
Bacillus thuringiensis
etc.
This page is about the bacterial genus. For rod-shaped bacteria in general, see Bacteria#Morphology.

Bacillus is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacteria and a member of the division Firmicutes. Bacillus species are either obligate or facultative aerobes, and test positive for the enzyme catalase.[1] Ubiquitous in nature, Bacillus includes both free-living and pathogenic species. Under stressful environmental conditions, the cells produce oval endospores that can stay dormant for extended periods. These characteristics originally defined the genus, but not all such species are closely related, and many have been moved to other genera.[2]

Bacillus subtilis is one of the best understood prokaryotes in terms of molecular biology and cell biology. Its superb genetic amenability and relatively large size have provided the powerful tools required to investigate a bacterium from all possible aspects. Recent improvements in fluorescence microscopy techniques have provided novel and amazing insight into the dynamic structure of a single cell organism. Research on Bacillus subtilis has been at the forefront of bacterial molecular biology and cytology, and the organism is a model for differentiation, gene/protein regulation, and cell cycle events in bacteria. [3]

Two Bacillus species are considered medically significant: B. anthracis, which causes anthrax, and B. cereus, which causes a foodborne illness similar to that of Staphylococcus.[4] A third species, B. thuringiensis, is an important insect pathogen, and is sometimes used to control insect pests. The type species is B. subtilis, an important model organism. It is also a notable food spoiler, causing ropiness in bread and related food. B. coagulans is also important in food spoilage.

An easy way to isolate Bacillus is by placing non-sterile soil in a test tube with water, shaking, placing in melted Mannitol Salt Agar, and incubating at room temperature for at least a day. Colonies are usually large, spreading and irregularly-shaped. Under the microscope, the Bacillus appear as rods, and a substantial portion usually contain an oval endospore at one end, making it bulge.

The cell wall

The cell wall of Bacillus is a rigid structure on the outside of the cell that forms the first barrier between the bacterium and the environment, and at the same time maintains cell shape and withstands the pressure generated by the cell's turgor. The cell wall is composed of peptidoglycan, teichoic and teichuronic acids. B. subtilis is the first bacterium for which the role of an actin-like cytoskeleton in cell shape determination and peptidoglycan synthesis was identified and for which the entire set of peptidoglycan synthesizing enzymes was localised. The role of the cytoskeleton in shape generation and maintenance is important [5].

Word ambiguity

Although Bacillus, capitalized and italicized, specifically refers to the genus, the word 'bacillus' may also be used to describe any rod-shaped bacterium, and in this sense, bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria.

Likewise, Bacilli refers to the particular class Bacillus belongs to, while bacilli are any rod-shaped bacteria.

It should be noted that the cell morphology term bacillus does not necessarily indicate Gram-positive staining, as E. coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria.

See also

  • Paenibacillus, a genus of bacteria that was formerly included in Bacillus

References

  1. ^ Turnbull PCB (1996). Bacillus. In: Barron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al, eds.), 4th ed., Univ of Texas Medical Branch. ISBN 0-9631172-1-1. 
  2. ^ Madigan M; Martinko J (editors). (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms, 11th ed., Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-144329-1. 
  3. ^ Graumann P (editor). (2007). Bacillus: Cellular and Molecular Biology, 1st ed., Caister Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-904455-12-7 . 
  4. ^ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology, 4th ed., McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-8385-8529-9. 
  5. ^ Scheffers DJ (2007). "The Cell Wall of Bacillus subtilis", Bacillus: Cellular and Molecular Biology (Graumann P, ed.). Caister Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-904455-12-7 . 

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Translations: Translations for: Bacillus

Dansk (Danish)
n. - bacille, stavbakterie

Nederlands (Dutch)
bacil, bacterie

Français (French)
n. - bacille

Deutsch (German)
n. - Bazillus, Bakterie

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βάκιλος, βακτηρίδιο

Italiano (Italian)
bacillo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bacilo (m), bactéria (f)

Русский (Russian)
бацилла

Español (Spanish)
n. - bacilo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bacill

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
杆状菌, 细菌

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 桿狀菌, 細菌

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 바칠루스(간상균)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - バチルス, 細菌, ばい菌

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عصيه , باسيل , بكتيريا مسبب للأمراض‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חיידק בצורת מקלון, חיידק, מתג‬

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Gardener's Dictionary. Taylor's Dictionary for Gardeners, by Frances Tenenbaum. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bacillus".  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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