An N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL)-degrading bacterial strain, L62, was isolated from a sample of fermentation brine of Chinese soya sauce by using rich medium agar supplemented with soya sauce (10% v/v). L62, a rod-shaped Gram positive bacterium with amylolytic activity, was phylogentically related to Bacillus sonorensis by 16S ribosomal DNA and rpoB sequence analyses. B. sonorensis L62 efficiently degraded N-3-oxohexanoyl homoserine lactone and N-octanoylhomoserine lactone. However, the aiiA homologue, encoding an autoinducer inactivation enzyme catalyzing the degradation of AHLs, was not detected in L62, suggesting the presence of a different AHL-degrading gene in L62. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of AHL-degrading B. sonorensis from soya sauce liquid state fermentation.
The pathogenicity of Bacillus sphaericus strain 1593 was tested against laboratory-reared larvae of four local species of mosquitoes of public health importance in Malaysia; Aedes aegypti, Anopheles balabacensis, Mansonia uniformis and Culex quinquefasciatus. The bacteria was shake-cultured at 28 +/- 1 degrees C for three days, using Glucose-Yeast Extract Salts medium. After which, the spores and vegetative cells were harvested and stored at 4 degrees C before use. Conditions for bioassays were mean temperature of 25 +/- 1 degrees C and relative humidity 65 +/- 5.0. Twenty third-instar larvae of each species were assayed in 90 ml of diluted spore solution. Each concentration and a control were replicated three times for each bioassay. Larval mortalities at 24 hours and 48 hours were taken and analyzed through Probit Analysis using a computer (IBM 370). LC50 values after 48 hours of exposure showed an increasing order of larval susceptibility as follows: Ae. aegypti (417.70 x 10(4)), An. balabacensis (45.84 x 10(4)), Ma. uniformis (18.23 x 10(4)) and Cx. quinquefasciatus (4.14 x 10(4) spores/ml). With the ability to kill 90% of the Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae tested with just a concentration of 10(5) spores/ml, B. sphaericus (strain 1593) has shown good potential as a biocontrol agent for this species of mosquito.
This study aimed to isolate, identify, and evaluate the probiotic properties of Bacillus species from honey of the stingless bee Heterotrigona itama. Bacillus spp. were isolated from five different H. itama meliponicultures, and the isolates were characterized through Gram-staining and a catalase test. Tolerance to acidic conditions and bile salt (0.3%), hydrophobicity, and autoaggregation tests were performed to assess the probiotic properties of the selected isolates, B. amyloliquefaciens HTI-19 and B. subtilis HTI-23. Both Bacillus isolates exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and possessed significantly high survival rates in 0.3% bile solution for 3 h. Their survival rates in acidic conditions were also comparable to a commercial probiotic strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Interestingly, the hydrophobicity and autoaggregation percentage showed no significant difference from L. rhamnosus GG, a commercial probiotic strain. The results from this study suggest that B. amyloliquefaciens HTI-19 and B. subtilis HTI-23 isolated from stingless bee honey have considerably good probiotic properties. Therefore, more studies should be done to investigate the effects of these bacteria cultures on gastrointestinal health.
There are increasing applications of diazotrophic rhizobacteria in the sustainable agriculture system. A field experiment on young immature oil palm was conducted to quantify the uptake of N derived from N₂ fixation by the diazotroph Bacillus sphaericus strain UPMB-10, using the ¹⁵N isotope dilution method. Eight months after ¹⁵N application, young immature oil palms that received 67% of standard N fertilizer application together with B. sphaericus inoculation had significantly lower ¹⁵N enrichment than uninoculated palms that received similar N fertilizers. The dilution of labeled N served as a marker for the occurrence of biological N₂ fixation. The proportion of N uptake that was derived from the atmosphere was estimated as 63% on the whole plant basis. The inoculation process increased the N and dry matter yields of the palm leaflets and rachis significantly. Field planting of young, immature oil palm in soil inoculated with B. sphaericus UPMB-10 might mitigate inorganic fertilizer-N application through supplementation by biological nitrogen fixation. This could be a new and important source of nitrogen biofertilizer in the early phase of oil palm cultivation in the field.
Mosquitocidal strains of B. sphaericus serotype H-5a5b were shown for the first time to exhibit antagonistic activities against several human pathogens especially Salmonella. These strains of B. sphaericus also exhibited high larval toxicity against several mosquitoes.
In this study, we characterized, identified, and determined the effect of salt-tolerant PGPR isolated from coastal saline areas on rice growth and yield. A total of 44 bacterial strains were isolated, and 5 were found to be tolerant at high salt concentration. These isolates were further characterized for salinity tolerance and beneficial traits through a series of quantitative tests. Biochemical characterization showed that bacterial survivability decreases gradually with the increase of salt concentration. One of the strains, UPMRB9, produced the highest amount of exopolysaccharides when exposed to 1.5M of NaCl. Moreover, UPMRB9 absorbed the highest amount of sodium from the 1.5M of NaCl-amended media. The highest floc yield and biofilm were produced by UPMRE6 and UPMRB9 respectively, at 1M of NaCl concentration. The SEM observation confirmed the EPS production of UPMRB9 and UPMRE6 at 1.5M of NaCl concentration. These two isolates were identified as Bacillus tequilensis and Bacillus aryabhattai based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence. The functional group characterization of EPS showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amino groups. This corresponded to the presence of carbohydrates and proteins in the EPS and glucose was identified as the major type of carbohydrate. The functional groups of EPS can help to bind and chelate Na+ in the soil and thereby reduces the plant's exposure to the ion under saline conditions. The plant inoculation study revealed significant beneficial effects of bacterial inoculation on photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal conductance of the plant which leads to a higher yield. The Bacillus tequilensis and Bacillus aryabhattai strains showed good potential as PGPR for salinity mitigation practice for coastal rice cultivation.
A total of 58 Gram-positive bacteria strains were isolated from the marine environment and screened for potential probiotics for disease prevention and improving the productivity of tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus larvae and juveniles. The bacteria were identified as Bacillus licheniformis, B. subtilis, B. circulans, B. sphaericus, B. cereus, Brevibacillus brevis, Corynebacterium propinquum, Leifsonia aquatica and Paenibacillus macerans. Only 24 strains showed antagonistic activities against four pathogenic strains; Vibrio alginolyticus, V. harveyi, V. parahaemolyticus and Aeromonas hydrophila, where two of the Bacillus strains, B12 and B45 demonstrated intermediate to highest level of inhibitory activity against these pathogenic strains, respectively. Further assessment by co-culture assay showed that Bacillus strain B12 exhibited a total inhibition of V. alginolyticus, while B45 strain displayed no inhibitory activity. Mixed culture of Bacillus B12 and B45 strains to outcompete V. alginolyticus was observed at a cell density of 10(7) CFU ml(-1). Molecular identification and phylogenetic tree analysis have categorized Bacillus strain B12 to the reference strains GQ340480 and JX290193 of? B. amyloliquafaciens, and Bacillus strain B45 with a reference strain JF496522 of B. subtilis. Safety tests of probionts by intraperitoneal administration of B12 and B45 strains at cell densities of 103, 105 and 10(7) CFU ml(-1) revealed no abnormalities and cent percent survival for healthy Epinephelus fuscoguttatus juveniles within 15 days of experimental period. Overall, the study revealed that Bacillus B12 strain possesses tremendous probiotic potential that could be used as a feed supplement in tiger grouper diets. ?
Soil salinity exert negative impacts on agricultural production and regarded as a crucial issue in global wetland rice production (Oryza sativa L.). Indigenous salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Bacillus sp.) could be used for improving rice productivity under salinity stress. This study screened potential salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) collected from coastal salt-affected rice cultivation areas under laboratory and glasshouse conditions. Furthermore, the impacts of these PGPRs were tested on biochemical attributes and nutrient contents in various rice varieties under salt stress. The two most promising PGPR strains, i.e., 'UPMRB9' (Bacillus tequilensis 10b) and 'UPMRE6' (Bacillus aryabhattai B8W22) were selected for glasshouse trial. Results indicated that 'UPMRB9' improved osmoprotectant properties, i.e., proline and total soluble sugar (TSS), antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT). Moreover, 'UPMRB9' inoculated rice plants accumulated higher amount of nitrogen and calcium in tissues. Therefore, the indigenous salt-tolerant PGPR strain 'UPMRB9' could be used as a potential bio-augmentor for improving biochemical attributes and nutrient uptake in rice plants under salinity stress. This study could serve as a preliminary basis for future large-scale trials under glasshouse and field conditions.
The goal of this study was to determine inhibitory effect of palm kernel expeller (PKE) peptides of different degree of hydrolysis (DH %) against spore-forming bacteria Bacillus cereus, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus stearothermophillus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis, Clostridium perfringens; and non-spore-forming bacteria Escherichia coli, Lisinibacillus sphaericus, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus.
Growth and productivity of rice are negatively affected by soil salinity. However, some salt-tolerant rhizosphere-inhabiting bacteria can improve salt resistance of plants, thereby augmenting plant growth and production. Here, we isolated a total of 53 plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) from saline and non-saline areas in Bangladesh where electrical conductivity was measured as >7.45 and <1.80 dS/m, respectively. Bacteria isolated from saline areas were able to grow in a salt concentration of up to 2.60 mol/L, contrary to the isolates collected from non-saline areas that did not survive beyond 854 mmol/L. Among the salt-tolerant isolates, Bacillus aryabhattai, Achromobacter denitrificans, and Ochrobactrum intermedium, identified by comparing respective sequences of 16S rRNA using the NCBI GenBank, exhibited a higher amount of atmospheric nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and indoleacetic acid production at 200 mmol/L salt stress. Salt-tolerant isolates exhibited greater resistance to heavy metals and antibiotics, which could be due to the production of an exopolysaccharide layer outside the cell surface. Oryza sativa L. fertilized with B. aryabhattai MS3 and grown under 200 mmol/L salt stress was found to be favoured by enhanced expression of a set of at least four salt-responsive plant genes: BZ8, SOS1, GIG, and NHX1. Fertilization of rice with osmoprotectant-producing PGPR, therefore, could be a climate-change-preparedness strategy for coastal agriculture.
Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Gram-negative saprophytic bacterium, is the causative agent of the potentially fatal melioidosis disease in humans. In this study, environmental parameters including temperature, nutrient content, pH and the presence of glucose were shown to play a role in in vitro biofilm formation by 28 B. pseudomallei clinical isolates, including four isolates with large colony variants (LCVs) and small colony variants (SCVs) morphotypes. Enhanced biofilm formation was observed when the isolates were tested in LB medium, at 30 °C, at pH 7.2, and in the presence of as little as 2 mM glucose respectively. It was also shown that all SVCs displayed significantly greater capacity to form biofilms than the corresponding LCVs when cultured in LB at 37 °C. In addition, octanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(8)-HSL), a quorum sensing molecule, was identified by mass spectrometry analysis in bacterial isolates referred to as LCV CTH, LCV VIT, SCV TOM, SCV CTH, 1 and 3, and the presence of other AHL's with higher masses; decanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(10)-HSL) and dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(12)-HSL) were also found in all tested strain in this study. Last but not least, we had successfully acquired two Bacillus sp. soil isolates, termed KW and SA respectively, which possessed strong AHLs degradation activity. Biofilm formation of B. pseudomallei isolates was significantly decreased after treated with culture supernatants of KW and SA strains, demonstrating that AHLs may play a role in B. pseudomallei biofilm formation.