Bacillus megaterium is a gram positive, spore producing bacteria. It is a Eubacteria and is found in the soil. It has a rod shape and is one of the largest Eubacteria. Colonies form in chains due to sticky polysaccharides on the cell wall. It is very important in the biotech industry due to its size and its' enzyme and cloning abilities. The enzymes help produce synthetic penicillin, modifying corticosteroids and several amino acid dehydrogenases. It also is very efficient in cloning due to no protease degradation of product and good stability of recombinant plasmids.
Bacillus megaterium
-mega (Greek, Large)
-teratis (Greek, monster, beast)
-megaterium (big beast)Eubacteria
*Disclaimer - This report was written by a student participaring in a microbiology course at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The accuracy of the contents of this report is not guaranteed and it is recommended that you seek additional sources of information to verify the contents.
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