Isolation and Purification of a New Bacillus Subtilis Strain from Deer Dung with Anti-microbial and Anti-cancer Activities

Regulation and analysis of Simiao Yong'an Decoction fermentation by Bacillus subtilis on the diversity of intestinal microbiota in Sprague-Dawley rats

Background and Aim

Simiao Yong'an decoction (SYD) is a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription that has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, and relieving pain. In this study, we investigated the effect of SYD on the diversity of intestinal microbiota after fermentation by Bacillus subtilis.

Materials and Methods

SYD was fermented using B. subtilis. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following four groups with six rats in each group: Negative sample group (NS), water exaction non-fermentation group (WE), B. subtilis group (BS), and fermentation liquid group (FL). All rats were orally administered for 14 days. High-throughput Illumina sequencing was used to analyze 16S rRNA expression in rat fecal samples.

Results

A total of 2782 operational taxonomical units (OTUs) were identified in this study, and 634 OTUs were shared among all samples. Bacteroidetes (28.17%-53.20%) and Firmicutes (48.35%-67.83%) were the most abundant phyla identified among the four groups. The abundance of Escherichia and Alistipes was lower in the FL group than in the NS group, whereas the abundance of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus was increased in the FL group (p < 0.05). The abundance of Bifidobacterium was significantly upregulated in the FL group compared with the WE and BS groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

After fermentation, SYD had a significantly better effect than SYD or B. subtilis. SYD significantly promoted the growth of intestinal probiotics, inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and maintained the balance of intestinal microbiota in SD rats. This study provides new insights into the development and use of SYD.

GC-MS profiling of Bacillus spp. metabolites with an in vitro biological activity assessment and computational analysis of their impact on epithelial glioblastoma cancer genes

Background: Bacterial metabolites play a crucial role in human health and have proven effective in treating various diseases. In this study, the 16S rRNA method and streaking were employed to isolate and molecularly identify a bacterial strain, with the goal of characterizing bioactive volatile metabolites extracted using nonpolar and polar solvents. Methods: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was conducted to identify 29 compounds in the bacterial metabolites, including key compounds associated with Bacillus spp. The main compounds identified included 2-propanone, 4,4-ethylenedioxy-1-pentylamine, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,1-butoxy-1-isobutoxy-butane, and 3,3-ethoxycarbonyl-5-hydroxytetrahydropyran-2-one. Results: The literature indicates the diverse biological and pharmacological applications of these compounds. Different concentrations of the metabolites from Bacillus species were tested for biological activities, revealing significant inhibitory effects on anti-diabetic activity (84.66%), anti-inflammatory activity (99%), antioxidant activity (99.8%), and anti-hemolytic activity (90%). Disc diffusion method testing also demonstrated a noteworthy inhibitory effect against tested strains. Conclusion: In silico screening revealed that 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid exhibited anticancer activity and promising drug-designing properties against epithelial glioblastoma cancer genes. The study highlights the potential of Bacillus spp. as a valuable target for drug research, emphasizing the significance of bacterial metabolites in the production of biological antibacterial agents.

Bacillus subtilis supernatant improves the efficacy of radiation therapy in rat intestinal epithelial cells by upregulation of bax and caspase-3 genes

BACKGROUND

Colorectal Cancer (CC) is among the most prevalent cancers in elderly persons. Radiotherapy is usually prescribed as CC develops, however, radiation beams indiscriminately affect normal cells. Previous studies nominated that probiotics and their metabolites can be used to minimize the side effects of radiotherapy. Hereby, the aim of this study was to investigate the probable correlation between cell-free supernatant of Bacillus subtilis and radiation response in normal and cancerous cell lines.

METHODS AND RESULTS

IEC-18 and SW-48 cells were treated with different concentrations of B. subtilis supernatant. To evaluate the effect of probiotic treatments under radiation and the normal situation, the cytotoxicity of the treatments was measured using the MTT method. The cell cycle status was analyzed by flow cytometry. The expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase 3 genes were also determined by real-time (RT) PCR. B. subtilis supernatant increased the viability of normal cells under radiation treatment, although this effect was not significant. 40% v/v of this mixture could amplify the lethal effect of radiation and decreased the viability of cancer cells. SW-48 cells that received 40% v/v of the supernatant had a significantly higher rate of apoptosis. Probiotic supernatant effectively induced the expression of proapoptotic Bax and Caspase 3 genes.

CONCLUSION

Presented results confirmed that the supernatant of B. subtilis can be supposed as a clue to improve the efficacy of radiation therapy in CC patients as it increased the sensitivity of cancerous cells and protected normal epithelial cells from detrimental effects of radiation.

Natural Bacterial and Fungal Peptides as a Promising Treatment to Defeat Lung Cancer Cells

Despite the increasing availability of modern treatments, including personalized therapies, there is a strong need to search for new drugs that will be effective in the fight against cancer. The chemotherapeutics currently available to oncologists do not always yield satisfactory outcomes when used in systemic treatments, and patients experience burdensome side effects during their application. In the era of personalized therapies, doctors caring for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have been given a powerful weapon, namely molecularly targeted therapies and immunotherapies. They can be used when genetic variants of the disease qualifying for therapy are diagnosed. These therapies have contributed to the extension of the overall survival time in patients. Nevertheless, effective treatment may be hindered in the case of clonal selection of tumor cells with acquired resistance mutations. The state-of-the-art therapy currently used in NSCLC patients is immunotherapy targeting the immune checkpoints. Although it is effective, some patients have been observed to develop resistance to immunotherapy, but its cause is still unknown. Personalized therapies extend the lifespan and time to cancer progression in patients, but only those with a confirmed marker qualifying for the treatment (gene mutations/rearrangements or PD-L1 expression on tumor cells) can benefit from these therapies. They also cause less burdensome side effects than chemotherapy. The article is focused on compounds that can be used in oncology and produce as few side effects as possible. The search for compounds of natural origin, e.g., plants, bacteria, or fungi, exhibiting anticancer properties seems to be a good solution. This article is a literature review of research on compounds of natural origin that can potentially be used as part of NSCLC therapies.

GC Analysis, Anticancer, and Antibacterial Activities of Secondary Bioactive Compounds from Endosymbiotic Bacteria of Pomegranate Aphid and Its Predator and Protector

Bacterial secondary metabolites are a valuable source of various molecules that have antibacterial and anticancer activity. In this study, ten endosymbiotic bacteria of aphids, aphid predators and ants were isolated. Bacterial strains were identified according to the 16S rRNA gene. Ethyl acetate fractions of methanol extract (EA-ME) were prepared from each isolated bacterium and tested for their antibacterial activities using the disk diffusion method. The EA-ME of three bacterial species, Planococcus sp., Klebsiella aerogenes, Enterococcus avium, from the pomegranate aphids Aphis punicae, Chrysoperia carnea, and Tapinoma magnum, respectively, exhibited elevated antibacterial activity against one or several of the five pathogenic bacteria tested. The inhibition zones ranged from 10.00 ± 0.13 to 20.00 ± 1.11 mm, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 0.156 mg/mL to 1.25 mg/mL. The most notable antibacterial activity was found in the EA-ME of K. aerogenes against Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli, with an MIC value of 0.156 mg/mL. The cytotoxic activity of EA-ME was dependent on the cell line tested. The most significant cytotoxicity effect was observed for extracts of K. aerogenes and E. avium, at 12.5 µg/mL, against the epithelial cells of lung carcinoma (A549), with a cell reduction of 79.4% and 67.2%, respectively. For the EA-ME of K. aerogenes and Pantoea agglomerans at 12.5 µg/mL, 69.4% and 67.8% cell reduction were observed against human colon cancer (Hct116), respectively. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of three EA-ME revealed the presence of several bioactive secondary metabolites that have been reported previously to possess antibacterial and anticancer properties. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the biological activities of endosymbiotic bacteria in aphids, aphid predators and ants. The promising data presented in this study may pave the way for alternative drugs to overcome the continued emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, and find alternative drugs to conventional cancer therapies.

Uncovering the special microbiota associated with occurrence and progression of gastric cancer by using RNA-sequencing

Gastric cancer (GC) has been identified as the third deadly cancer in the world. Accumulating researches suggest a potential role of microorganisms in tumorigenesis. However, the composition of microbiota in GC tissues is not clear and it changes throughout the different stages of GC remain mostly elusive. Our study integrated RNA-Seq data of 727 samples derived from gastric tissues across four datasets and revealed its microbial composition. In order to remove the false positive results, core taxa were defined and characterized. Based on it, we analyzed the influence of biological factors on its composition. The pan-microbiome of gastric tissues was estimated to be over than 1400 genera. Seventeen core genera were identified. Among them, Helicobacter, Lysobacter were significantly enriched in normal tissues, while Pseudomonas was enriched in tumor tissues. Interestingly, Acinetobacter, Pasteurella, Streptomyces, Chlamydia, and Lysobacter, showed a significant increase trend during tumor development and formed strong intra/inter-correlations among them or with other genera. Furthermore, we found that tumor stage played an important role in altering the microbial composition of GC tissues. This study provides support for the in-depth study of tumor microbiome, and the specific microbiome excavated provides a possibility for the subsequent identification of potential biomarkers for GC.

Bacteriocin Production by Bacillus Species: Isolation, Characterization, and Application

Antibiotic resistance is a problem that has been increasing lately; therefore, it is important to find new alternatives to treat infections induced by pathogens that cannot be eliminated with available products. Small antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) known as bacteriocin could be an alternative to antibiotics because they have shown to be effective against a great number of multidrug-resistant microbes. In addition to its high specificity against microbial pathogens and its low cytotoxicity against human cells, most bacteriocin present tolerance to enzyme degradation and stability to temperature and pH alterations. Bacteriocins are small peptides with a great diversity of structures and functions; however, their mechanisms of action are still not well understood. In this review, bacteriocin produced by Bacillus species will be described, especially its mechanisms of action, culture conditions used to improve its production and state-of-the-art methodologies applied to identify them. Bacteriocin utilization as food preservatives and as new molecules to treat cancer also will be discussed.

Isolation and Characterization of Two New Deoxynivalenol-Degrading Strains, Bacillus sp. HN117 and Bacillus sp. N22

Deoxynivalenol (DON), produced by Fusarium species, is one of the most common trichothecenes detected in cereals pre- and post-harvest, which poses a great threat to the health of livestock and human beings due to its strong toxicity. In this study, we isolated and characterized two DON-degrading bacterial strains, Bacillus sp. HN117 and Bacillus sp. N22. Both strains could degrade DON efficiently in a wide range of temperatures (from 25 °C to 42 °C) and concentrations (from 10 mg/L to 500 mg/L). After optimization of the degradation conditions, 29.0% DON was eliminated by HN117 in 72 h when it was incubated with 1000 mg/L DON; meanwhile, the DON degradation rate of N22 was boosted notably from 7.41% to 21.21% within 120 h at 500 mg/L DON. Degradation products analysis indicated HN117 was able to transform DON into a new isomer M-DOM, the possible structure of which was deduced based on LC-MS and NMR analysis, and N22 could convert DON into potential low-toxic derivatives norDON E and 9-hydroxymethyl DON lactone. These two strains have the potential to be developed as new biodegrading agents to control DON contamination in food and feed industries.

The Antibacterial, Antitumor Activities, and Bioactive Constituents’ Identification of Alectra sessiliflora Bacterial Endophytes

Due to increased antimicrobial resistance against current drugs, new alternatives are sought. Endophytic bacteria associated with medicinal plants are recognized as valuable sources of novel secondary metabolites possessing antimicrobial, antitumor, insecticidal, and antiviral activities. In this study, five bacterial endophytes were isolated and identified from the medicinal plant, Alectra sessiliflora, and their antibacterial and antitumor activities were investigated. In addition, the crude extracts of the endophytes were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The identified bacterial endophytes belong to three genera viz Lysinibacillus, Peribacillus, and Bacillus, with the latter as the dominant genus with three species. Ethyl acetate extracts from the endophytes were used for antimicrobial activity against eleven pathogenic strains through minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The antitumor activity against the Hela cervical, Hek 293 kidney, and A549 lung carcinoma cells was determined by the MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxy-phenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] assay. Lysinibacillus sp. strain AS_1 exhibited broad antibacterial activity against the pathogenic strains with MIC values ranging from 4 to 8 mg/ml, while Bacillus sp. strain AS_3 displayed MIC of 0.25 mg/ml. Crude extracts of Lysinibacillus sp. strain AS_1, Peribacillus sp. strain AS_2, and Bacillus sp. strain AS_3 showed growth inhibition of more than 90% against all the cancer cell lines at a concentration of 1,000 μg/ml. Untargeted secondary metabolite profiling of the crude extracts revealed the presence of compounds with reported biological activity, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and antidiabetic properties. This study reported for the first time, bacterial endophytes associated with A. sessiliflora with antibacterial and antitumor activities.