Bacillus arenosi sp. nov., Bacillus arvi sp. nov. and Bacillus humi sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A group of nine Gram-positive endospore-forming bacteria was isolated from soil of the Drentse A agricultural research area in The Netherlands. Using (GTG)5-PCR genomic fingerprinting and fatty acid analysis, the nine isolates were divided into three consistent groups. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of representative strains, the nine isolates were shown to belong to the genus Bacillus.

Molecular characterisation of bacterial contamination in semi-final gelatine extracts, using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

Contamination of gelatine may affect the safety and/or quality of its applications. Characterisation of bacterial isolates from semi-final gelatine batches revealed thermotolerant, aerobic, endosporeforming contaminants. In this paper, bacterial contamination in gelatine batches is analysed without previous isolation, by means of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA sequences.

Brevibacterium picturae sp. nov., isolated from a damaged mural painting at the Saint-Catherine chapel (Castle Herberstein, Austria).

Three strains showing highly similar (GTG)5-PCR patterns were isolated from a heavily damaged mural painting at the Saint-Catherine chapel (Castle Herberstein, Austria). On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the strains were attributed to Brevibacterium, with Brevibacterium casei (96.7 %), Brevibacterium iodinum (96.