Bacillus is one of the largest and most ubiquitous genus comprising of rod shaped Gram

positive bacteria which are either aerobes or facultative anaerobes. Bacillus species are
capable of forming endospores that vary in shape from round, cylindrical to sometimes
oval in shape that make them survive in harsh conditions. These microorganisms are
mostly found in water, soil and sometimes in animal and vegetable matter. They
compete with other microbes present in the environment by their resistant spore forming
ability and the production of such metabolites that act antagonistically on other
organisms. Such physiological abilities allow them to thrive in any environmental
condition.

The Bacillus genus consists of approximately 268 species which are either halotolerant,
thermophilic, acidophilic, psychrophilic or halophilic species and are able to grow at
wide range of temperature, pH and salt concentrations. (Albrecht et al. 1996). Two of
the members of genus are known to be pathogenic to humans that can lead to serious
illnesses. These include B.cereus that causes food poisoning and B. anthracis that
leads to Anthrax. (Public Health England, 2015).

Based on morphological characteristics of spores, species are divided into two groups,
Bacillus cereus group and Bacillus subtilis group. B.cereus group comprises of B.
cereus, B. anthracis, B. mycoides, B. pseudomycoides B. thuringiensis and B.
weihenstephanensis species that differ from other microorganisms by their ability to
produce enzyme and inability to form acid from mannitol. These species have
ellipsoidal spores, their cells are greater than 1 μm in diameter and they are neutrophilic
and mesophilic. The second B.subtilis group consists of B. subtilis, B. sonorensis, B.
vallismortis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. atrophaeus, B. licheniformis, B. firmus, B. lentus,
B. clausii, B. mojavensis and B. sporothermodurans. Cells of these species are lesser
than 1μm in diameter and these microorganisms are not easy to distinguish as they are
closely related.

Bacillus species have a great importance in medicine, food, pharmaceuticals and

agriculture because of their potential to synthesize essential metabolites and their
antimicrobial activity. They are used in the synthesis of various enzymes, aminoacids,
antibiotics etc. Bacillus is among the important industrial enzymes due to their capability
to produce different extracellular enzymes. Advanced cloning and protein engineering
strategies are being conducted to produce large quantities of enzyme products
commercially. (Schallmey, Singh, Ward, 2004). Several studies have also shown the
role of Bacillus as plant growth promoters. (Lyngwi and Joshi, 2014B. thuringiensis is a
potent insect pathogen and is used as a pesticide in agriculture. Bacillus licheniformis
and B.subtilis are involved in the fermentation processes in the production of soya food
products. (Sorokulova, 2013). Many Bacillus species such as B.cereus, B.pumilus and
B.subtilis possess probiotic properties and are used in medicine and as dietary
supplement for humans. (Duc et al.,2003). They have been engineered using
recombinant technology in order to enchance the production of probiotics.

Many species of this genus produce useful industrial enzymes such as protease that
have wide range of industrial applications. Bacillus cereus , Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus
stearothermophilus have shown to produce pectinase enzymes which are used to
extract fruit juices in food and beverage industry. (Torimoro and Okonji, 2013).
B.subtilis, B.megaterium, B.licheniformis and many others are capable of producing
protease enzymes which are useful in detergent, food and leather industry. In food
industry, amylase produced is used in preparation of syrups, juices and cakes.
(Desouza and Magalhaes, 2010). Bacterial Cellulase, Amylase and Protease are added
in detergents to enhance their capacity to breakdown residues of starchy foods as they
are able to withstand the effects of high pH and oxidizing agents. Bacterial proteases
are also used as enzymatic debriders and contact lens cleaners. (Anwar and
Saleemuddin, 2000). All these make Bacillus one of the important species in industrial
applications.
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