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On the industrial use of Bacillus licheniformis: a review

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Abstract

We document here that in those rare cases where disease has been related to Bacillus licheniformis, infection was associated with bypassing the normal biological protective barriers or severely debililated patients. No case suggests any invasive properties of this bacterium. B. licheniformis can therefore be considered non-pathogenic to humans in general. Food-borne illness caused by possible B. licheniformis toxins have been reported, but only in a very few cases and only in connection with consumption of inappropriately prepared food. Considerable experience concerning the industrial use of recombinant B. licheniformis strains has now accumulated and authorities in the United States, Europe and Japan have approved production with and products from recombinant B. licheniformis strains. We conclude that B. licheniformis is a safe host for the production of harmless, industrial products.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Novo Nordisk A/S, Novo Allé, DK-2880, Bagsværd, Denmark

    Anne Sietske de Boer & Børge Diderichsen

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, Scotland

    Fergus Priest

Authors
  1. Anne Sietske de Boer
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  2. Fergus Priest
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  3. Børge Diderichsen
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Correspondence to: B. Diderichsen

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de Boer, A.S., Priest, F. & Diderichsen, B. On the industrial use of Bacillus licheniformis: a review. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 40, 595–598 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173313

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173313

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