Rachel's Notes:

Other Name=Paenibacillus lentimorbus

Gram Stain:

    Bacillus lentimorbus retains the color of the crystal violet iodine due to it's thick cell walls. It looks purple under the microscope which means that bacillus lentimorbus     is Gram positive. Gram positive bacteria have cell walls that contain more peptidoglycan and less lipids.

Structure:

    Bacillus lentimorbus contain cytoplasm and nuclear matter inside their cell walls. They have a flagellum for movement and have pili on the outside of their cell membrane. They are rod-shaped bacteria that form chain-like formations. They form endospores in two different divisions: anaerobic spore-forming bacteria and aerobic or facultatively anaerobic spore-forming bacteria.

Reproduction:

    Bacillus lentimorbus grow fastest in areas in aerated areas 30-32 degrees Celcius

Beneficial Properties:

    A combination of bacillus popillae and bacillus lentimorbus has been used to control agricultural pests because they infect the pests and eventually kill them stunting their population growth. Bacillus lentimorbus from cow's milk can be used to prevent fungi growth and promote the growth of plants in fields.

Unusual and Interesting Facts:

    Bacillus lentimorbus, unlike other bacillus bacteria, are not heat-resistant. It is possible that heat-resistant spores did form but did not germinate. Also, their spores infect the Japanese beetle populations that infest major crops, but they act as a pathogen for these beetles without harming the environment adn other things living in it. This is a form of augmentation, one of three main ways to use enemies (pathogenic bacteria for example) to get rid of pest populations.

Recent Scientifical/Medical Research:

    Paenibacillus causes a larval honey bee disease, and research is being done to assemble the genome of this disease. Having genetic sequences would allow interactive genome analysis.