Bacillus subtilis: a universal cell factory for industry, agriculture, biomaterials and medicine

• Published in: Microbial cell factories Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Su, Yuan, Liu, Chuan, Fang, Huan, Zhang, Dawei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 03.09.2020; BioMed Central Ltd; BMC
• Subjects: Additives; Agricultural industry; Agriculture; Analysis; Antibiotics; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobials; Applied Microbiology; Bacillus subtilis; Bacteria; Binding sites; Biochemicals; Biofilms; Biological products; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Biotechnology; Carbon; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; CRISPR; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Drug resistance; Efficiency; Enzymes; Enzymology; Factories; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic diversity; Genetic Engineering; Genetic manipulation; Genomes; Medicine; Metabolism; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Physiological aspects; Plasmids; Protein expression; Protein turnover; Proteins; Review; Genetic manipulation; Enzymes; Protein expression; Biofilms; Antimicrobials; Biochemicals
• ISSN: 1475-2859; 1475-2859
• DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01436-8

Due to its clear inherited backgrounds as well as simple and diverse genetic manipulation systems, Bacillus subtilis is the key Gram-positive model bacterium for studies on physiology and metabolism. Furthermore, due to its highly efficient protein secretion system and adaptable metabolism, it has been widely used as a cell factory for microbial production of chemicals, enzymes, and antimicrobial materials for industry, agriculture, and medicine. In this mini-review, we first summarize the basic genetic manipulation tools and expression systems for this bacterium, including traditional methods and novel engineering systems. Secondly, we briefly introduce its applications in the production of chemicals and enzymes, and summarize its advantages, mainly focusing on some noteworthy products and recent progress in the engineering of B. subtilis . Finally, this review also covers applications such as microbial additives and antimicrobials, as well as biofilm systems and spore formation. We hope to provide an overview for novice researchers in this area, offering them a better understanding of B. subtilis and its applications.