Isolation of Bacillus cereus Group from the Fecal Material of Turtles

In this present study members of the B. cereus group were isolated using the ethanol shock method from the fecal material of painted turtles living in the wild. In total, number of isolates were screened using MALDI. The genomes of members of the B. cereus group as determined by MALDI were subject to whole genome sequencing (WGS). In addition, the genome of two isolates from a previous study involving wood turtles were also subject to WGS. As determined by PubMLST identification and verified by average nucleotide identity (ANI) the two isolates from the wood turtle were B. weidmannii and B. mycoides. Two isolates from the painted turtle were identified as B. thuringiensis and a third was identified as B. toyonensis.