International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, Vol 50, 1715-1722, Copyright © 2000 by Society for General Microbiology

Phylogeny of Bacillus sphaericus-like organisms

LK Nakamura
Microbial Properties Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL 61604, USA

The mesophilic round-spored bacteria embrace four species, namely Bacillus sphaericus, Bacillus fusiformis, Bacillus silvestris and Bacillus pasteurii. Although not displayed by all strains, mosquito pathogenicity is a noteworthy characteristic of B. sphaericus sensu lato. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences from 58 strains identified as B. sphaericus was used to examine the genetic heterogeneity of the taxon. Results from sequence analysis were compared with whole-cell fatty acid profiles and other phenotypic determinations. The B. sphaericus-like strains segregated into seven distinct clusters in a phylogenetic tree generated from 16S sequences. One cluster represented B. sphaericus and another B. fusiformis. A third cluster containing all of the pathogenic strains was closely related to, or was possibly part of, the B. fusiformis group. The remaining four groups were distinct and represented unnamed taxa that were more closely related to B. sphaericus and B. fusiformis than to the psychrophilic round-spored species, Bacillus globisporus and Bacillus psychrophilus. Groups based on phenotypic analysis corresponded to the 16S rDNA phylogenetic clusters. Data showed that B. sphaericus was genetically and phenotypically a highly heterogeneous taxon including at least seven genetically distinct taxa. The pathogenic strains were members of a distinct group and not of the species B. sphaericus sensu stricto. This heterogeneity partially accounts for the apparent variability of mosquito pathogenicity among B. sphaericus strains.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				X. Hu, W. Fan, B. Han, H. Liu, D. Zheng, Q. Li, W. Dong, J. Yan, M. Gao, C. Berry, et al. Complete Genome Sequence of the Mosquitocidal Bacterium Bacillus sphaericus C3-41 and Comparison with Those of Closely Related Bacillus Species J. Bacteriol., April 15, 2008; 190(8): 2892 - 2902. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Albert, J. Archambault, M. Lempa, B. Hurst, C. Richardson, S. Gruenloh, M. Duran, H. L. Worliczek, B. E. Huber, R. Rossello-Mora, et al. Proposal of Viridibacillus gen. nov. and reclassification of Bacillus arvi, Bacillus arenosi and Bacillus neidei as Viridibacillus arvi gen. nov., comb. nov., Viridibacillus arenosi comb. nov. and Viridibacillus neidei comb. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, December 1, 2007; 57(12): 2729 - 2737. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Han, H. Liu, X. Hu, Y. Cai, D. Zheng, and Z. Yuan Molecular Characterization of a Glucokinase with Broad Hexose Specificity from Bacillus sphaericus Strain C3-41 Appl. Envir. Microbiol., June 1, 2007; 73(11): 3581 - 3586. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Zhang, Z. Xu, and B. K. C. Patel Bacillus decisifrondis sp. nov., isolated from soil underlying decaying leaf foliage Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, May 1, 2007; 57(5): 974 - 978. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. O. Glazunova, D. Raoult, and V. Roux Bacillus massiliensis sp. nov., isolated from cerebrospinal fluid. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, July 1, 2006; 56(Pt 7): 1485 - 1488. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]