Taxonomy
Morphology
Cultural characteristics
Biochemical characters
Ecology
Pathogenicity
References
Phylum Bacillota (Firmicutes), Class Bacilli, Order Caryophanales, Family Bacillaceae, Genus Bacillus, Bacillus safensis Satomi, La
Duc, and Venkateswaran 2006. Biochemically and by 16S rRNA gene sequencing is very similar to Bacillus pumilus.
Gram-positive, motile by polar flagella, spore-forming rods, 0.5-0.7 x 1.0-1.2 µm.
Colonies are undulate, with irregular margins, dull white on TSA in 24 h at 32 ºC.
Grow at 10-50 ºC (optimum growth at 30-37 ºC) and in media containing 0-10% NaCl.
Aerobic growth; no anaerobic growth. Chemoheterotrophic. Growth does not occur in
0.0001% lysozyme broth.
Isolated from the spacecraft surface and assembly facility floor of the Mars Odyssey and from the spacecraft-assembly facility of the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Undetermined.
- M. Satomi, M.T. La Duc and K. Venkateswaran 2006. Bacillus safensis sp. nov., isolated from spacecraft and assembly-facility
surfaces. IJSEM 56, 1735-1740.
- Liu Y, Lai Q, Du J, Shao Z. Bacillus zhangzhouensis sp. nov. and Bacillus australimaris sp. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2016; 66:
1193-1199.
Positive results for alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, esterase (C4), esterase lipase (C8), naphthol-AS-BI-phosphoamidase,
trypsin, alpha- and beta-glucosidase, cystine aminopeptidase, oxidase, catalase, alpha- and beta-galactosidase, hydrolysis of esculin,
hydrolysis of gelatin, Voges-Proskauer test, acid production from: L-arabinose, amygdalin, arbutin, cellobiose, fructose, galactose,
D-glucose (without gas), glycerol, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, meso-inositol, maltose, D-mannitol, D-mannose, ribose,
salicin, sucrose, trehalose, D-turanose and D-xylose.
Negative results for arginine dihydrolase, lysine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase, deamination of phenylalanine, hydrolysis of
urea, indole production, H2S production, lipase (Tween 80), nitrate reduction, citrate utilization, tryptophan deaminase, amylase, acid
production from: adonitol, D-arabinose, D- or L-arabitol, dulcitol, erythritol, D- or L-fucose, beta-gentiobiose, gluconate, glycogen, inulin,
2- or 5-ketogluconate, lyxose, melezitose, raffinose, rhamnose, sorbitol, sorbose, starch, xylitol and L-xylose.
Variable results for hydrolysis of casein, acid production from lactose, gentibiose and melibiose.
Can be differentiated from B. pumilus by acid production from inositol, methyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside, maltose, D-turanose, utilization
of inositol, and by negative results for lipase (Tween 80) and casein hydrolysis in litmus milk.
(c) Costin Stoica