Seminar on 13th, August 2021

On August 13, 2021, the research team of Applied Biotechnology successfully held the seminar as an annual activity of the group. Attending the seminar were nearly 20 lecturers and researchers of the group. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Canh presented the review about “Bacillus subtilis – Methods of identification and quantification in applied products”. The characteristics and potential applications of Bacillis subtilis (B. Subtilis), and the methods currently used for the identification and quantification of this bacterial species in the world have been reviewed. B. subtilis is a gram (+) bacterium, with a simple and diverse genetic structure. However, this species of bacteria has an efficient protein secretion system and an adaptable metabolism. B. subtilis is widely used as a "cell" plant for the production of enzymes and antimicrobial compounds for industrial, agricultural, and medical chemistry. Now a day, the identification and enumeration of B. Subtilis bacteria usually require a combination of morphology, biochemistry and molecular biology methods based on their genetic characteristics to obtain accurate results. In terms of morphology and biochemical characteristics, B. Subtilis has great similarities and is difficult to distinguish from other bacteria of the same group such as B. amyloliquefaciens, B. licheniformis, B. vallismortis, B. atrophaeus, B. sonorensis, and B. mojavensis (Robert et al., 1994; 1996). For example, B. Subtilis and B. mojavensis are most similar in terms of morphology and biochemical characteristics. Therefore, in order to distinguish B. Subtilis and B. mojavensis, it is necessary to analyze the fat composition in the cell biomass, the DNA sequence of the marker genes, or the ability to transfer genes and limit the reproduction of the pair...(Robert et al., 1994).Therefore, using specific methods to identify and quantify B. Subtilis on application products should clearly determine the characteristics of the product, the required level of accuracy of the method.

After the talk, the research team members discussed the content of the report as well as exchanged the research results of the group in the past 3 months. Periodic professional activities of the group, both help members update scientific information as well as exchange professional experiences with each other to promote the quality of the group's research.

Figure 1. Overview of Bacillus subtilis application in different fields  (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-020-01436-8)

Figure 2. Discussion of members of the research team