DISCRIMINATION AMONG BACILLUS-CEREUS, B-MYCOIDES AND BACILLUS-THURINGIENSIS AND SOME OTHER SPECIES OF THE GENUS BACILLUS BY FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED-SPECTROSCOPY

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in conjunction with can onical variate analysis was found to be effective in discriminating am ong spectra of 9 representative strains of Bacillus spp., including B. cereus, B. mycoides and B. thuringiensis. The method was also able to discriminate according to species among spectra of 14 other non-type strains of B. cereus, 12 of B. mycoides and 12 of B. thuringiensis wit h a success rate of >95%, even without using a Drier classification of the groups by species. FTIR spectroscopy can be used for the rapid en d accurate differentiation of species in the genus Bacillus that are o f importance to the food and dairy industry. (C) 1998 Federation of Eu ropean Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.