Bacillus cereus lysis

The complexing of cations important for enzyme activities may be the third way of PolyP action on enzyme activity. An example of such action is the mechanism leading to growth inhibition, morphological changes and lysis of Bacillus cereus when challenged... 

S. K. Maier, S. Scherer and M. J. Loessner (1999). Long-chain polyphosphate causes cell lysis and inhibits Bacillus cereus septum formation, which is dependent on divalent cations. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 65, 3942-3949. 

Enterotoxins. Toxic proteins formed by bacteria with molecular masses in the range from 27000 to 30000 which are usually excreted into the medium ( exotoxins). E. can be taken up with contaminated food or be formed by the bacteria colonizing the intestinal walls. Finally, the bacteria can penetrate the intestinal walls and then start to excrete the E. Some E. are thermally very stable and survive when food is boiled. E. from Salmonella and Staphylococcus species are the most frequent causes of food poisoning. Shortly after uptake, the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and circulatory complaints occur. Deaths are rare and occur only when the subject is already in a weakened state. The sites of attack by E. vary, e.g., at intestinal epithelial cells or in the vegetative nervous system. For the production of antitoxins, E. are obtained by lysis of bacterial cells or from cell-free culture filtrates. E. have been detected, e. g., in the following bacterial species Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli. Vibrio cholerae. Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus faecalis. 

Sodium hypochlorite was first used by Williamson and Wilkinson (1958) to isolate PHB granules from Bacillus cereus. However, sodium hypochlorite digestion of NPCM resulted in the lysis of cells without affecting the PHB. Sodium hypochlorite purification method was affecting the sudanophilic properties and molecular weight of the polymer granules. 

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