Preclinical Safety Assessment of BS50 for Probiotic and Food Applications.

Despite the commercial rise of probiotics containing spp., it remains important to assess the safety of each strain before clinical testing. Herein, we performed preclinical analyses to address the safety of BS50.

First complete genome sequence of Bacillus glycinifermentans B-27.

The first complete genome sequence of Bacillus glycinifermentans B-27 was determined by SMRT sequencing generating a genome sequence with a total length of 4,607,442 bases. Based on this sequence 4738 protein-coding sequences were predicted and used to identify gene clusters that are related to the production of secondary metabolites such as Lichenysin, Bacillibactin and Bacitracin. This genomic potential combined with the ability of B.

Genetic analysis of the Bacillus licheniformis degSU operon and the impact of regulatory mutations on protease production.

Disruption experiments targeted at the Bacillus licheniformis degSU operon and GFP-reporter analysis provided evidence for promoter activity immediately upstream of degU. pMutin mediated concomitant introduction of the degU32 allele--known to cause hypersecretion in Bacillus subtilis-- resulted in a marked increase in protease activity. Application of 5-fluorouracil based counterselection through establishment of a phosphoribosyltransferase deficient Δupp strain eventually facilitated the marker-free introduction of degU32 leading to further protease enhancement achieving levels as for hypersecreting wild strains in which degU was overexpressed.

Systems biology of recombinant protein production using Bacillus megaterium.

The Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli is the most widely used production host for recombinant proteins in both academia and industry. The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium represents an increasingly used alternative for high yield intra- and extracellular protein synthesis. During the past two decades, multiple tools including gene expression plasmids and production strains have been developed.

Transcriptome profiling of degU expression reveals unexpected regulatory patterns in Bacillus megaterium and discloses new targets for optimizing expression.

The first whole transcriptome assessment of a Bacillus megaterium strain provides unanticipated insights into the degSU regulon considered to be of central importance for exo-enzyme production. Regulatory patterns as well as the transcription of degSU itself deviate from the model organism Bacillus subtilis; the number of DegU-regulated secretory enzymes is rather small. Targets for productivity optimization, besides degSU itself, arise from the unexpected DegU-dependent induction of the transition-state regulator AbrB during exponential growth.

Functional analysis of the response regulator DegU in Bacillus megaterium DSM319 and comparative secretome analysis of degSU mutants.

We functionally analysed the two-component regulatory system DegSU (historically SacU) in Bacillus megaterium DSM319 by generating a genetic knock out as well as a sacU32 mutation. The latter--known to cause a hypersecretion phenotype in Bacillus subtilis--had no influence on extracellular protease and amylase activity in B. megaterium.

Tier II Interventions within the Framework of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Essential Features for Design, Implementation, and Maintenance.

To meet the complex social behavioral and academic needs of all students, schools benefit from having available multiple evidence-based interventions of varying intensity. School-wide positive behavior support provides a framework within which a continuum of evidence-based interventions can be implemented in a school. This framework includes three levels or tiers of intervention; Tier I (primary or universal), Tier II (secondary or targeted), and Tier III (tertiary or individualized) supports.

A new population of very high energy gamma-ray sources in the Milky Way.

Very high energy gamma-rays probe the long-standing mystery of the origin of cosmic rays. Produced in the interactions of accelerated particles in astrophysical objects, they can be used to image cosmic particle accelerators. A first sensitive survey of the inner part of the Milky Way with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) reveals a population of eight previously unknown firmly detected sources of very high energy gamma-rays.

High-energy particle acceleration in the shell of a supernova remnant.

A significant fraction of the energy density of the interstellar medium is in the form of high-energy charged particles (cosmic rays). The origin of these particles remains uncertain. Although it is generally accepted that the only sources capable of supplying the energy required to accelerate the bulk of Galactic cosmic rays are supernova explosions, and even though the mechanism of particle acceleration in expanding supernova remnant (SNR) shocks is thought to be well understood theoretically, unequivocal evidence for the production of high-energy particles in supernova shells has proven remarkably hard to find.