Be cereus about anthrax toxin

taken from apparent inhalation anthrax case

Written byJohn Dudley Miller
| 3 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

A plasmid coding for the anthrax toxin has been found in a sample of Bacillus cereus taken from a person who survived a life-threatening pneumonia symptomatic of inhaled anthrax. The finding, reported in the advanced online edition of PNAS, is the first time the complete plasmid has been found in any naturally occurring microbe other than Bacillus anthracis.

The study grew out of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) review of reported cases of unusually severe illnesses caused by these or other Bacillus species. The researchers did not study cases of anthrax of the skin. They note that 2 years ago, other scientists found one of the genes for the anthrax toxin in two fatal cases of pneumonia caused by B. cereus. But those samples were not further characterized, so if the plasmid was present, it was not found.

B. cereus is known to cause food poisoning, but ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.
January 2026

What Is the Amniotic Fluid Composed of?

The liquid world of fetal development provides a rich source of nutrition and protection tailored to meet the needs of the growing fetus.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Unchained Labs

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological's Launch of SwiftFluo® TR-FRET Kits Pioneers a New Era in High-Throughout Kinase Inhibitor Screening

SPT Labtech Logo

SPT Labtech enables automated Twist Bioscience NGS library preparation workflows on SPT's firefly platform

nuclera logo

Nuclera eProtein Discovery System installed at leading Universities in Taiwan

Brandtech Logo

BRANDTECH Scientific Introduces the Transferpette® pro Micropipette: A New Twist on Comfort and Control