The key difference between Bacillus clausii and Bacillus subtilis is that Bacillus clausii is a rod-shaped, motile, spore-forming probiotic bacterial species of the genus Alkalihalobacillus, while Bacillus subtilis is a rod-shaped bacterial species of the genus Bacillus that is used as a model organism to learn about bacterial chromosome replication.
Alkalihalobacillus and Bacillus are two genera of the phylum Bacillota. Bacillus clausii belongs to the genus Alkalihalobacillus, while Bacillus subtilis belongs to the genus Bacillus. They are two non-pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, both these bacterial species are used as probiotics in animals and humans. In addition, these bacterial species are gram-positive and rod-shaped and are found in the soil.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Bacillus Clausii
3. What is Bacillus Subtilis
4. Similarities – Bacillus Clausii and Bacillus Subtilis
5. Bacillus Clausii vs Bacillus Subtilis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Bacillus Clausii vs Bacillus Subtilis
What is Bacillus Clausii?
Bacillus clausii is a bacterial species that belongs to the genus: Alkalihalobacillus. Earlier, this species was classified under the genus of Bacillus. But, this species has been recently transferred into the genus Alkalihalobacillus. Bacillus clausii is also known as Alkalihalobacillus clausii. This bacterium is a rod-shaped, motile, and spore-forming bacterium. Bacillus clausii lives in the soil. However, it is also a natural microbiota of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. It has a genome of 4.3Mbp with 4108 genes.
Figure 01: Bacillus Clausii
Probiotics are live microorganisms that promote health benefits when consumed by improving gut microbiota. This bacterium is a probiotic used in animals and humans. As a probiotic microorganism, Bacillus clausii maintains a symbiotic relationship with the host organism. Moreover, this bacterial species is currently being studied in relation to infections in the respiratory tract and some disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, Bacillus clausii produces antimicrobial substances or agents that are active against some gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, and Clostridium difficile. Apart from that, Bacillus clausii is also used as an antidiarrhoeral agent under the brand name Erceflora by Sanofi.
What is Bacillus subtilis?
Bacillus subtilis is a bacterial species of the genus Bacillus. It has a genome of 4.2 Mbp with 4,100 genes. B. subtilis is also known as hay bacillus or grass bacillus. It is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium normally found in the soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans, and marine sponges. This bacterium can also form a tough, protective endospore, enabling it to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. In addition, it is also an obligate aerobe.
Figure 02: Bacillus subtilis
Moreover, Bacillus subtilis has various usages industrially, such as probiotics, model organisms, to produce different enzymes like amylase and proteases, produce antibiotic bacitracin, for spaceflight experimentation, as a soil inoculant in horticulture and agriculture, as fungicides, and to reduce gold (III) to gold (I) and gold (0) when oxygen is present.
What are the Similarities Between Bacillus Clausii and Bacillus Subtilis?
- B. clausii and B. subtilis are classified under phyllum Bacillota.
- Both these bacterial species are gram-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming, and motile.
- Both these bacterial species are non-pathogenic.
- They are found in the soil.
- Both these bacterial species are used as probiotics in animals and humans.
What is the Difference Between Bacillus Clausii and Bacillus Subtilis?
Bacillus clausii is a species of the genus Alkalihalobacillus and is a probiotic bacterium, while Bacillus subtilis is a bacterial species of the genus Bacillus which is important as a model organism. Thus, this is the key difference between Bacillus clausii and Bacillus subtilis. Furthermore, Bacillus clausii has a genome of 4.3 Mbp with 4108 genes, while Bacillus subtilis has a genome of 4.2 Mbp with 4100 genes.
The below infographic presents the differences between Bacillus clausii and Bacillus subtilis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Bacillus Clausii vs Bacillus Subtilis
Probiotics are live microorganisms that are intended to promote health benefits when consumed or applied to the body. B. clausii and B. subtilis are non-pathogenic bacteria that can be used as probiotics in animals and humans. Both these bacterial species are gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria. Bacillus clausii belongs to the genus Alkalihalobacillus, while Bacillus subtilis belongs to the genus Bacillus. So, this summarizes the difference between Alkalihalo bacillus and Bacillus subtilis.
Reference:
1. “Bacillus Subtilis.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
2. Khatri, Akshay M, et al. “A Tale of Caution: Prolonged Bacillus Clausii Bacteraemia after Probiotic Use in an Immunocompetent Child.” Access Microbiology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Feb. 2021.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Bacillus clausii Enterogermina” By Giraffe Gregor – This image was taken at RECENDT with an optical microscope (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Bacillus subtilis natto colonies” By Catfaster – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia