Construction and application in plasmid vectors of bacillus cereus group

Abstract

The B. cereus group (B. cereus sense lato) is a subgroup of related Bacillus containing six species: B. Thuringiensis, B. anthracis, B. cereus, B. weihenstephanensis, B. mycoides and B. pseudomycoides. The first three species are opportunistic or pathogenic to insects or mammals, whereas the last three are generally regarded as nonpathogenic. Different types of plasmid vectors play an important role in studying gene function in genetically engineered bacteria or construction of mutant library. The researchers have constructed a variety of shuttle vectors in two or more different host strains. Expression vectors are widely used in construction of highly effective engineered strains. Resolution vectors can site-specifically transfer recombinant genes. Integration vectors could integrate foreign genes into the chromosome or plasmid of host strains and are free of antibiotic resistance genes, therefore eliminating security risks. In recent years, researchers have made great progress in the development of genetic manipulation vectors. Here we summarize latest progress in vector construction and their application in Bacillus cereus group.