STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY
- Hi there! I am a Gram-Positive, coccal-shaped, facultative anaerobic bacterium.
- I am a rod-shaped, motile, Gram-positive, facultative aerobic, spore forming bacteria.
- I am generally found in soil and vegetation and my optimal temperature for growth ranges from 25-35 degrees Celsius.
- I have the ability to produce and secrete antibiotics like, polymyxin, difficidin, subtilin, and mycobacillin.
- The antibiotics are secreted during sporulation increase my chances of survival among other competing microbes.
- I am a model organism for studying endospore formation in bacteria. Endospore formation results in spore forming bacteria to be able to withstand harsh environmental conditions such as UV lights and high temperatures.
TRANSMISSION AND DISEASE
- I am generally non-pathogenic but I may contaminate food and also act as an opportunistic pathogen for the immune-compromised.
- My spores can spread on seeds, vegetables, and plants as a fungicide, while competing with other disease causing organisms. Some of us are also capable of producing toxins for insects.
TREATMENT OF INFECTION
- Primary infections caused by me can be treated with antibiotics such as vancomycin and clindamycin.
DISINFECTION
- I have the ability to form endospores as a result of which microbiologists utilize me as a standard for evaluating the effectiveness of sporicides and sterilants.