Paenibacillus dendritiformis

Paenibacillus dendritiformis
Figure 1: A colony generated by the Branching (Tip splitting) morphotype bacteria of P. dendritiformis. The colony diameter is 6cm and the colors indicate the bacteria density (darker shade for higher density).
Scientific classification
Domain:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
P. stellifer
Binomial name
Paenibacillus stellifer
(Ash et al., 1994)

Paenibacillus dendritiformis is a species of pattern-forming bacteria, first discovered in the early 90s by Eshel Ben-Jacob's group.[1][2] It is a social microorganism that forms colonies with complex and dynamic architectures. The genus Paenibacillus comprises facultative anaerobic, endospore-forming bacteria originally included within the genus Bacillus and then reclassified as a separate genus in 1993.[3] Bacteria belonging to this genus have been detected in a variety of environments such as: soil, water, rhizosphere, vegetable matter, forage and insect larvae.[4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ Ben-Jacob E, Schochet O, Tenenbaum A, Cohen I, Czirok A, Vicsek T. Generic modelling of cooperative growth patterns in bacterial colonies. Nature. Mar 3 1994;368(6466):46-49.
  2. ^ Ben-Jacob E, Shochet O, Tenenbaum A, Avidan O. Evolution of complexity during growth of bacterial colonies. Paper presented at: NATO Advanced Research Workshop, 1995; Santa Fe, USA.
  3. ^ Ash C, Priest FG, Collins MD. Molecular identification of rRNA group 3 bacilli (Ash, Farrow, Wallbanks and Collins). Proposal for the creation of a new genus Paenibacillus. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. 1993;64(3-4):253-260.
  4. ^ Lal S, Tabacchioni S: Ecology and biotechnological potential of Paenibacillus polymyxa: a minireview. Indian J Microbiol 2009, 49:2-10.
  5. ^ McSpadden Gardener BB: Ecology of Bacillus and Paenibacillus spp. in Agricultural Systems. Phytopathology 2004, 94:1252-1258.
  6. ^ Montes MJ, Mercade E, Bozal N, Guinea J: Paenibacillus antarcticus sp. nov., a novel psychrotolerant organism from the Antarctic environment. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2004, 54:1521-1526.
  7. ^ Ouyang J, Pei Z, Lutwick L, Dalal S, Yang L, Cassai N, Sandhu K, Hanna B, Wieczorek RL, Bluth M, Pincus MR: Case report: Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus: a new cause of human infection, inducing bacteremia in a patient on hemodialysis. Ann Clin Lab Sci 2008, 38:393-400.