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Bacillus lichenformisErin Pringle

Bacillus licheniformisis an interesting type of bacteria because it affects humans inmany different ways. B. licheniformisis Gram-positive and rod-shaped. It is a motile

bacterium, a facultative anaerobe (unlike other bacilli that are typically aerobic), andclosely related to Bacillus subtilis. B. licheniformisproduces endospores, and is usuallyfound in the soil as spores. It is an apathogenic microorganism that is usuallyassociated with plants and plant materials.

B. licheniformishas been approved as being used to treat ornamental plants to protectthem from fungal pathogens. It demonstrates antifungal activity by producing anantibiotic that acts against fungi. It may also produce an anti-fungal enzyme. B.licheniformisis effective against many types of fungi, especially those that causeleafspot and blight diseases. Its use is not recommended on plants that may be used forfood or feed because it may be associated with food poisoning in humans and

reproductive failure in cattle, sheep, and pigs. Sources differ in saying whether or not B.licheniformisis actually toxigenic. It is a common spoilage organism of milk, packagedmeats, and some canned goods. Food poisoning by B. licheniformisis characterized bydiarrhea. Vomiting also occurs in around half of the cases. The species has also beenisolated from a number of human infections. In order for infections to occur, it seemsthat there must be a preceding case of trauma or immunosupression that allows thebacteria to multiply. However, the possibility of infection by B. licheniformisis low.

B. licheniformisis an important commercial bacterium because it is used to produceenzymes, mainly alpha-amylases and proteases. The enzymes are manufactured inlarge quantities through fermentation. They are then used in many different ways. They

are added to cleaning detergents to improve their effectiveness. They help break downorganic stains that are otherwise hard to remove. Enzymes were first used to improvethe effectiveness of laundry detergent in 1913 by Otto Rohm. Otto Rohm was thefounder of the chemical company Rohm and Hass. The proteolytic enzyme he used wasderived from milled animal pancreases. However, it was actually quite crude with manyimpurities and could actually stain textiles. Enzymes from B. licheniformisareadvantageous because they work best in warm alkaline conditions, which prevail inwashing liquids. They also do not lose their activity in an environment that includesmany potentially inhibitory chemicals. The proteases produced by B. licheniformisarealso used for dehairing and batting in the leather industry. The alpha-amylasesproduced are also used for the desizing of textiles and starch modification for sizing of

paper.

B. licheniformisis also used to produce the polypeptide antibiotic bacitracin. Bacitracinis mainly active against Gram-positive bacteria. It is added to topical ointment to preventminor cuts and abrasions from developing infections. It is added to eye ointment to treatminor bacterial infections of the eyelids.

While B. licheniformisis a relatively common bacterium, it is important to humans in

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many different ways. In the future we may find even more uses for its enzymes as wellas better understand how much virulence it actually possesses.

Sources:

1)http://www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/genomes/genomes.html?http://www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/genomes/bacteria/Bacillus_licheniformis.html

2)http://www.g2l.bio.uni-goettingen.de/projects/c_proj_bl.html

3)http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_006492.htm

4)http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/biotech/fra/fra005.htm

5)http://content.febsjournal.org/cgi/content/full/267/13/4068

6)http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/drugs_view/1%2C1524%2C668%2C00.html

7)http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/65/10/4637

8)http://www.expasy.org/sprot/hamap/BACLD.html

9)http://www.campo-research.com/campo/fruit-enzymes/detergent.html

*Disclaimer - This report was written by a student participaring in a microbiology course at the MissouriUniversity of Science and Technology. The accuracy of the contents of this report is not guaranteed and itis recommended that you seek additional sources of information to verify the contents.

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