Recognition of greater diversity of Bacillus species and related bacteria in human faeces

Hoyles, L., Honda, H., Logan, N. A., Halket, G., La Ragione, R. M. and McCartney, A. L. (2012) Recognition of greater diversity of Bacillus species and related bacteria in human faeces. Research in Microbiology, 163 (1). pp. 3-13. ISSN 0923-2508 doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2011.10.004

Abstract/Summary

In a study looking at the culturable, aerobic Actinobacteria associated with the human gastrointestinal tract, the vast majority of isolates obtained from dried human faeces belonged to the genus Bacillus and related bacteria. A total of 124 isolates were recovered from the faeces of 10 healthy adult donors. 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed the majority belonged to the families Bacillaceae (n = 81) and Paenibacillaceae (n = 3), with Bacillus species isolated from all donors. Isolates tentatively identified as Bacillus clausii (n = 32) and B. licheniformis (n = 28) were recovered most frequently, with the genera Lysinibacillus, Ureibacillus, Oceanobacillus, Ornithinibacillus and Virgibacillus represented in some donors. Phenotypic data confirmed the identities of isolates belonging to well-characterized species. Representatives of the phylum Actinobacteria were recovered in much lower numbers (n = 11). Many of the bacilli exhibited antimicrobial activity against one or more strains of Clostridium difficile, C. perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, with some (n = 12) found to have no detectable cytopathic effect on HEp-2 cells. This study has revealed greater diversity within gut-associated aerobic spore-formers than previous studies, and suggests that bacilli with potential as probiotics could be isolated from the human gut.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/23229
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Microbial Sciences Research Group
Publisher	Elsevier
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