Understanding the ontogeny and succession of Bacillus velezensis and B. subtilis subsp. subtilis by focusing on kimchi fermentation

Abstract

Bacillus subtilis and B. velezensis are frequently isolated from various niches, including fermented foods, water, and soil. Within the Bacillus subtilis group, B. velezensis and B. subtilis subsp. subtilis have received significant attention as biological resources for biotechnology-associated industries. Nevertheless, radical solutions are urgently needed to identify microbes during their ecological succession to accurately confirm their action at the species or subspecies level in diverse environments, such as fermented materials. Thus, in this study, previously published genome data of the B. subtilis group were compared to exploit species- or subspecies-specific genes for use as improved qPCR targets to detect B. velezensis and B. subtilis subsp. subtilis in kimchi samples. In silico analyses of the selected genes and designed primer sequences, in conjunction with SYBR Green real-time PCR, confirmed the robustness of this newly developed assay. Consequently, this study will allow for new insights into the ontogeny and succession of B. velezensis and B. subtilis subsp. subtilis in various niches. Interestingly, in white kimchi without red pepper powder, neither B. subtilis subsp. subtilis nor B. velezensis was detected.

Functional Annotation Genome Unravels Potential Probiotic Bacillus velezensis Strain KMU01 from Traditional Korean Fermented Kimchi

“…Most bacterial studies of kimchi have focused on baechu-kimchi without fish and demonstrated that lactic acid bacteria of the genera Lactococcus, Lactobacillus , Leuconostoc , Pediococcus , and Weissella predominate during kimchi fermentation [ 1 , 2 ]. Culture-independent methods also showed lactic acid bacteria as the dominant bacteria along with Bacillus in kimchi fermentations [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Bacillus strains with antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria have been isolated from kimchi [ 6 ].…”

Bacillus velezensisDP‐2 isolated from Douchi and its application in soybean meal fermentation

“…Bacillus species are valuable due to their ability to colonize plants; to produce spores, biofilms, enzymes, and antibiotics; and to induce the synthesis of plant hormones 12‐14 . Among Bacillus species, B. subtilis and its subspecies are widely used in the food industry and animal husbandry because of their safety and antagonistic competitiveness against competing microorganisms 14,15 . For example, B. subtilis natto is used in the manufacture of natto, a Japanese fermented food made from soybean; it can improve the content of functional soybean components 16 .…”

Purification and Characterization of a Bacteriocin, BacBS2, Produced by Bacillus velezensis BS2 Isolated from Meongge Jeotgal

“…B. velezensis is a novel species that was recently taxonomically classified to differentiate it from a closely related species, B. amyloliquefaciens [8]. B. velezensis strains are broadly distributed in different environmental niches including fermented foods, soil, and water [8,9]. B. velezensis can be used as a starter culture for fermented foods, and also as a probiotic for animal feed as an alternative to antibiotics [8,10].…”