Article Abstract:
The randomly amplified polymorphic (RAPD) DNA fingerprinting technique has been used on a set of 101 strains of Bacillus genus, with 61 strains belonging to the B. cereus group. The purpose of the study was to discover an RAPD marker specific for the B. cereus group and for discriminating B. anthracis. The former causes food-borne disease syndromes while the latter is the active agent of the anthrax disease. The RAPD identified an 838-bp marker, the SG-850, for B. cereus, B. thuringiensis, B. anthracis and B. mycoides. It also has a 366-nucleotide open reading frame that is highly homologous to the ypuA gene of Bacillus subtilis.
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Article Abstract:
The distribution of genes encoding putative virulence factors, specifically, the Vip3a, BceT, PclA, Sph, NheB and NheC components of the nonhemolytic enterotoxin (NHE) complex and HblA of the hemolysin BL (HBL) complex, in a panel of Bacillus cereus and B. thuringiensis strains comprised mainly of Brazilian isolates are assessed. The variable region of the vrrA sequence for fragment length polymorphisms, which might prove useful for the specific identification of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis, are examined.
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Article Abstract:
Multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) is used to develop an assay for the identification of strains from the Bacillus cereus group most closely related to Bacillus anthracis. A very simple assay is proposed that allows the screening of hundreds of strains from the B. cereus complex, with modest equipment and at a low cost, to eventually fill the gap with B. anthracis and better understand the origin and making of this dangerous pathogen.
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