Bacillus atrophaeus
| NBRC No. | NBRC 16183 |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name of this Strain | Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura 1989 |
| Synonymous Name | |
| Type Strain | |
| Accepted Date | 1998/06/10 |
| Isolated Year | |
| Deposited Year | |
| History | IFO 16183 <- ATCC 9372 <- N.R. Smith, 1221A <- Bacon Labs. (Bacillus globigii, red strain) <- Camp Detrick (C.R. Phillips) <- E. MaCoy |
| Other Culture Collection No. | ATCC 9372=CIP 77.18=DSM 675=IFO 13721=NCIB 8058=NCIMB 13498=NBRC 13721=IFO 16183 |
| Other No. | 1221A |
| Rehydration Fluid | 702 |
| Medium | 802 |
| Cultivation Temp. | 30 C |
| Cultivation Oxygen Relationship | |
| Source of Isolation | |
| Locality of Source | |
| Country of Origin | |
| Biosafety Level | |
| Applications | Hot air and ethyleneoxide gas;sterilization control JIS K 8008:1992;test |
| Mating Type | |
| Genetic Marker | |
| Plant Quarantine No. | |
| Animal Quarantine No. | |
| Herbarium No. | |
| Restriction | |
| Comment | |
| References | 617 |
| Sequences | 16S rDNA |
| Shipping as | Glass ampoule (L-dried) |
Bacillus atrophaeus is a species of black-pigmented bacteria. Its type strain is NRRL NRS-213. B. atrophaeus strains have been used extensively in biomedicine as indicator strains for heat- and chemical-based decontamination regimens. Most of the strains in use are derivatives of a lineage of B. atrophaeus that originated at Camp Detrick in the 1950s, where many modern biocontainment procedures were developed. B. atrophaeus has historically been known by several other names, including B. globigii, (the origin of its military moniker “BG,”) and B. subtilis var. niger.
Modern phylogenetic analyses using multiple genetic methods have placed B. atrophaeus close to B. subtilis. Its original and still most prominent use is as a surrogate organism for pathogenic B. anthracis, beginning in the U.S. bio-weapons program, as its pigmentation readily facilitated discrimination from non-pigmented background organisms in environmental samples. Subsequent genomic and phenotypic analysis of strains derived from the Camp Detrick isolates revealed that they had been deliberately selected for strains that exhibited elevated rates of sporulation.
