Bacillus subtilis

Cells are rod-shaped and microscopic.

It is described as a Gram-positive bacterium.

A developing spore forms inside a mother cell.

Researchers use it to study cell division and developmental decisions.

The published reference genome includes genes involved in exporting proteins.

That genome also contains many genes for using plant-derived carbon compounds.

Selected environmental isolates formed biofilms on tomato roots in a greenhouse study.

In those tested strains, plant protection depended on genes required for biofilm formation.

Experiments with dry-heat-treated spores distinguish germination from later outgrowth: both steps do not always succeed together.

Vegetative cells grow and divide.

During sporulation, mother cell and prespore follow different developmental programmes.

Germination precedes outgrowth and renewed vegetative growth in viable spores.

It lives in association with plants, including around roots, and has been isolated from decaying plant material.

The 1997 genome paper opened routes from an organism to its genes. A sequence belongs to a particular biological sample; findings from selected strains should retain their experimental context.