Knowledge of the Bacillus subtilis genome: impacts on fundamental science and biotechnology

Abstract

The advent of genomics has greatly influenced fundamental and applied microbiology. This has become paradigmatic in the case of Bacillus subtilis, a primary model bacterium for research and biotechnology. Indeed, mining its genome has provided more fruitful information than classical approaches would have yielded in a longer period of time. Through advanced analysis of its genome and transcriptome, fundamental discoveries dealing with the informational architecture of the B. subtilis chromosome, as well as with the elucidation of its pathway-level regulation of gene expression, have been achieved. The possibility of performing a complete metabolic manipulation of the secretory pathway of Bacillus is promising important biotechnological fallouts. Similar emphasis exists for the possibility of controlling the cell in the formation of biofilms with specific physical and chemical characteristics. At the theoretical level, the new concept of genetic superinformation has been formulated and its analytical approach implemented, while the understanding of the minimal genetic requirements for the existence of a reproducing bacterial cell is being tackled. In summary, the impact of the B. subtilis genome has philosophically revolutionised the way that basic knowledge is translated into applied microbiology and biotechnology, making this bacterium the workhorse of post-genomic microbiology.