Featured Pathways
Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Mesorhizobium, Sinorhizobium and Azorhizobium-known as Rhizobia-are Gram-negative, nitrogen-fixing bacteria of agronomic importance because they perform nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with leguminous plants. They are responsible for the world’s largest portion of fixed atmospheric nitrogen. Bradyrhizobium japonicum(B. japonicum) has been used since 1957 in[..]
Brucella is a Gram-negative aerobic pathogen that is distringuished from most other pathogens because it does not have "obvious virulence factors" like capsules, fimbriae, flagella, exotoxins, exproteases, or other exoenzymes, cytolysins, resistance forms, antigenic variation, plamids, or lysogenic phages. Brucella sp. causes a "zoonotic disease endemic in many[..]
The bacterial genus Listeria is currently taxonomically subdivided into six species: L. monocytogenes, L. seeligeri, L. ivanovii, L. innocua, L. grayi, and L. welshimeri. Two of the species are pathogenic, causing the disease listeriosis. L. innocua is widespread in the environment and in food. The only phenotypic characteristic that classically distinguishes L.[..]
Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426, which was isolated from the deep-sea sediment of the Mariana Trench, is a thermophilic Bacillus-related species whose upper temperature limit for growth is 74 degrees Celsius (optimally 60 degrees Celsius). It is known that there are at least 12 other thermophilic Geobacillus species, which have been reclassified from the genus Bacillus (Ref.1).The[..]
The bacterial cell wall is a unique biopolymer, containing both D- and L-Amino acids. Its basic structure is a carbohydrate backbone of alternating units of N-Acetyl Glucosamine and N-Acetyl Muramic Acid. The N-Acetyl Muramic Acid residues are cross-linked with oligopeptides. The terminal peptide is D-Alanine although other amino acids are present as D- isomers and this is the only known[..]
Bacilli are an extremely diverse group of bacteria that include both the causative agent of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) as well as several species that synthesize important antibiotics. Bacilli are rod-shaped, Gram-positive, sporulating, aerobes or facultative anaerobes. Bacilli exhibit an array of physiologic abilities that allow them to live in a wide range of habitats, including many[..]
Bacillus cereus is a gram-positive, facultative anaerobic rod-shaped endospore-forming bacterium. B. cereus occurs ubiquitously in soil and in many raw and processed foods such as rice, milk and dairy products, spices, and vegetables. Many strains of B. cereus are able to produce toxins and cause distinct types of food poisoning. B. cereus is an[..]
