Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032

Bacillus_pumilus
Names Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032
Accession numbers NC_009848
Background Bacillus pumilus is a ubiquitous Gram-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped endospore-forming bacterium that can be isolated from a wide variety of soils, plants and environmental surfaces and even from the interior of Sonoran desert basalt. B. pumilus spores and vegetative cells show a resistance to UV radiation and H2O2 that is significantly higher than that of other Bacillus species. Isolates of B. pumilus were also recently recovered aboard the International Space Station from hardware surfaces and air particles. It is likely that these isolates were present in spacecraft assembly facilities as metabolically dormant spores. They were found in both unclassified (entrance floors, ante-room, and air-lock) and classified (floors, cabinet tops, and air) locations. As H2O2 is recommended for use in bioreduction of spacecraft components, repeated isolation of H2O2-resistant strains of this species in a clean-room is a concern because their persistence might potentially compromise life-detection missions, which have very strict cleanliness and sterility requirements for spacecraft hardware. Spore-forming microbes recovered from spacecraft surfaces and assembly facilities were exposed to simulated Mars UV irradiation. The effects of UVA (315-400 nm), UVA+B (280-400 nm) and full spectrum (200-400 nm), at intensities expected to strike Mars, on the survival of microorganisms showed that spores of Bacillus species isolated from spacecraft associated surfaces were more resistant than a standard dosimetric strain, B. subtilis 168. Among all Bacillus species tested, spores of Bacillus pumilus (strain SAFR-032) showed the highest resistance to all three UV bandwidths as well as the total spectrum. Paradoxically, B. pumilus lacks several DNA repair and oxidative stress response genes found in B. subtilis and B. licheniformis. (EBI Integr8)
Taxonomy
Kingdom:Bacteria
Phylum:Firmicutes
Class:Bacilli
Order:Bacillales
Family:Bacillaceae
Genus:Bacillus
Species:pumilus
Strain SAFR032
Complete Yes
Sequencing centre (15-AUG-2007) Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA
(27-SEP-2007) National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
Sequencing quality Level 6: Finished
Sequencing depth NA
Sequencing method 454-GS20, Sanger
Isolation site Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Isolation country USA
Number of replicons 1
Gram staining properties Positive
Shape Bacilli
Mobility Yes
Flagellar presence Yes
Number of membranes 1
Oxygen requirements Aerobic
Optimal temperature NA
Temperature range Mesophilic
Habitat Terrestrial
Biotic relationship Free living
Host name NA
Cell arrangement NA
Sporulation Sporulating
Metabolism Biomass degrader
Energy source NA
Diseases NA
Pathogenicity No