Bacillus anthracis

Bacillus anthracis is a bacterium of the genus Bacillus, which causes the disease known as anthrax. B. anthracis was the first bacterium ever shown to cause disease, by Robert Koch in 1877. The specific name anthracis comes from the Greek word anthrax (ἄνθραξ), meaning coal and referring to the most common form of the disease, cutaneous anthrax, in which large black skin lesions are formed.

Related Topics:
Bacterium - Bacillus - Anthrax - Robert Koch - 1877 - Greek - Lesion

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Like other Bacillus species, B. anthracis is rod-shaped with a Gram positive stain. Each cell is about 1 by 6 micrometres in size. The bacteria produce endospores which rest in the soil, and can survive for decades in this state. When ingested by a herbivore, they start multiplying inside the animal and eventually kill it, then continue to reproduce in its carcass. Once the nutrients are exausted, new endospores are produced.

Related Topics:
Gram positive - Micrometre - Endospore - Herbivore

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B. anthracis comes in 89 known strains, ranging from virulent Ames and Vollum strains with biological warfare and bioterrorism applications to benign Sterne strain used for inoculations. The strains differ in presence and activity of various genes, determining their virulence and production of antigens and toxins.

Related Topics:
Strains - Ames - Biological warfare - Bioterrorism - Inoculation - Gene - Virulence - Antigen - Toxin

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See also:

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• Anthrax
• Ames strain