NC_009674:2551759 Bacillus cytotoxicus NVH 391-98 chromosome, complete genome
Host Lineage: Bacillus cytotoxicus; Bacillus; Bacillaceae; Bacillales; Firmicutes; Bacteria
General Information: Isolated from a food poisoning outbreak in a nursing home for elderly people in France in March 1998. Under starvation conditions this group of bacteria initiate a pathway that leads to endospore formation, a process that is thoroughly studied and is a model system for prokaryotic development and differentiation. Spores are highly resistant to heat, cold, dessication, radiation, and disinfectants, and enable the organism to persist in otherwise inhospitable environments. Under more inviting conditions the spores germinate to produce vegetative cells. Bacillus cytotoxicus is a member of the Bacillus cereus group, which represents sporulating soil bacteria containing pathogenic strains which may cause food poisoning outbreaks.