Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus: Understanding the Pathogenicity and Host Interactions

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 267

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
Interests: Genome and epidemiological analysis of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, is one of the most serious zoonoses. Bacillus anthracis escapes attack by host immune cells, germinates from spores in living cells, and multiplies as vegetative cells in the blood. During the infection process, the bacteria express toxin proteins that cause cell edema and necrosis, resulting in severe damage to the host. The pathogenicity of B. anthracis is not completely understood in many respects.

Bacillus cereus is endemic in the environment as spores, and after invading the host, it multiplies in the bloodstream and causes sepsis. Although B. cereus possesses many endogenous virulence factors, it is still unclear how the expression of these virulence genes is regulated.

In this Special Issue, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the pathogenicity of Bacillus anthracis or Bacillus cereus from a wide range of fields. We hope to contribute to the analysis of pathogenicity by collecting research findings, including genome analysis of pathogen and host interactions such as the immune response. Article types include, but are not limited to, original research papers, review articles, case reports, etc.

We look forward to receiving valuable contributions.

Dr. Akiko Okutani
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Bacillus anthracis
  • Bacillus cereus
  • anthrax
  • pathogenesis
  • epidemiology
  • genomics
  • host–pathogen interactions

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 1253 KiB  
Article
Green Tea Catechin Epigallocatechin Gallate Inhibits Vegetative Cell Outgrowth and Expression of Beta-Lactamase Genes in Penicillin-Resistant Bacillus anthracis Strain PCr
by Akiko Okutani, Shigeru Morikawa and Ken Maeda
Pathogens 2024, 13(8), 699; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13080699 - 19 Aug 2024
Abstract
The green tea catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) has antimicrobial effects on many bacteria. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of EGCg on Bacillus anthracis spores and vegetative cells. The B. anthracis spores were insensitive to EGCg, but the growth of vegetative [...] Read more.
The green tea catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) has antimicrobial effects on many bacteria. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of EGCg on Bacillus anthracis spores and vegetative cells. The B. anthracis spores were insensitive to EGCg, but the growth of vegetative cells derived from germinated spores was inhibited by EGCg. Moreover, EGCg decreased the minimum inhibitory concentration of penicillin and meropenem for penicillin-resistant B. anthracis. In the penicillin-resistant B. anthracis strain, the transcription levels of the beta-lactamase genes (bla1 and bla2) decreased significantly following the treatment with 50 µg/mL EGCg. These results suggest that the appropriate application of EGCg may effectively control the penicillin-resistant B. anthracis growth and beta-lactamase production. Full article
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