Bacillus atrophaeus BACI051-N genome sequencing. Bacillus atrophaeus BACI051-N

Critical Reagents Program, Department of Defense. DNA available from BEI Resources (www.beiresources.com) under BACI051. Bacillus atrophaeus. Bacillus atrophaeus (formerly known as B. globigii or B. subtilis var niger) is a gram-positive Bacillus species that produces a brownish-black pigment on nutrient agar. It has historically been grouped with Bacillus subtilis but the phenotypic and genomic divergence have warranted their designation as a separate species. The principal use of Bacillus atrophaeus has been as a biodefense simulant and as a test strain for decontamination procedures. It is also a source of the glycosylation inhibitor nojirimycin and the restriction endonucleases BglI and BglII. B. atrophaeus was developed during the 1940's by the United States Army as a simulant for spore-forming bacilli (e.g. B. anthracis) and as such was utilized in the development of large-scale growth conditions, for testing decontamination procedures, and has since been extensively used throughout the biodefense community. This project will compare modern type strains (e.g. ATCC 9372), strains currently in use within the biodefense community to archival strains of B. atrophaeus to trace the microevolution of B. atrophaeus during >70 years of development and use. In addition, this project compares B. atrophaeus subsp. globigii strains to the more distantly related B. atrophaeus subsp. atrophaeus strains. B. atrophaeus BACI051-N is one of two observed morphology variants in the BACI051 strain available from the U.S. Dept. of Defense Critical Reagents Program.