Characterization of Bacillus licheniformis from elephants and its therapeutic potential in colorectal cancer mouse models

This study integrates metagenomic sequencing, whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and transcriptomics to investigate the gut microbiota of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and the therapeutic potential of a derived bacterial isolate. We performed metagenomic sequencing on fecal samples from 15 elephants to profile the gut microbiome. From these samples, we isolated a novel strain of Bacillus licheniformis and characterized it using WGS. Finally, we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of this isolate in MC38 colorectal cancer (CRC) mouse models. RNA-seq analysis was performed on subcutaneous tumor tissues from mice treated with B. licheniformis versus PBS controls to identify differentially expressed genes and underlying molecular mechanisms associated with tumor suppression.