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Biology/Microbio - B. subtilis vs B. cereus

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Expert: Florence M Rollwagen - 11/14/2008


Question
I'm taking Microbiology 1 lab and I'm trying to ID some unknown organisms. I think one of them might be either B. subtilis and B. cereus. Which test results will come out different between them?

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Nancy:  Thanks for your question.  You can look at colony morphology.  B. cereus forms colonies that are dull and frosted and usually occurs in chains. B. subtilis forms colonies that are dull and may be wrinkled.  B cereus usually occurs in chains, but this is not uniform

Another way is to do the VP and Citrate tests.  Bacillus subtillus will test positive when performing a VP and Citrate test.


Good luck!

FM Rollwagen, PhD

Biology

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Florence M Rollwagen

Expertise

I can answer questions in biology, microbiology and immunology on the undergraduate or graduate level. I can also address medical and health concerns regarding alternative medicine, autoimmune diseases (lupus, MS) liver disease and intestinal problems.

Experience

I have over 20 years experience in research and teaching at the medical/graduate level, and 5 years teaching college biology and microbiology. My expertise is in microbiology and immunology, specifically the biology of cytokines and soluble immune response modifiers. I also carried out original research in blood substitutes and shock/trauma.

Organizations
American Association of Immunologists (AAI) American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Publications
Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Immunology, Cytokine, Shock, Experimental Hematology

Education/Credentials
BS biology 1966 MS biology 1968 PhD immunology 1979

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