The presence of one of the anthrax virulence plasmid pXO1 conserved fragments was analyzed in 24 Bacillus cereus and B. thuringiensis strains, including 6 B. thuringiensis subspecies, by polymerase chain reactions. Twelve out of 24 strains showed PCR-positive for an ORF101 homologous sequence. Two pXO1-ORF101-like fragments from a B. cereus B-4ac and a commercial B. thuringiensis kurstaki HD1 were cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli. Toxicity assays revealed that the product encoded by the pXO1-ORF101-like fragment had no impact on either Vero cells or Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, suggesting that this fragment probably not contribute to enterotoxic activity. Sequence alignment of the pXO1-ORF101 from three Bacillus anthracis and ORF101-like fragments from other 12 B. cereus group isolates indicated high identity (more than 90%) and the presence of subgroup- and strain-specific SNPs among these fragments.
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