This bacterium is among the microbes that are very widespread in nature. Hay stick was described in 1835. The microorganism received this name from the fact that it was originally isolated from overripe hay. In the laboratory, in a sealed container, hay was boiled in liquid, then insisted for two or three days. After that, a colony of Bacillus Subtilis was formed. Thus began a detailed study of this common bacterium.
Study
In science there is such a term - "model organism". When representatives of nature are selected for intensive study of processes, properties, for scientific experiments. A vivid example is the ciliate shoe, which is well known to us from biology lessons.
Hay stick is also a model organism. Thanks to her, the formation of spores in bacilli has been thoroughly studied. It is a model for understanding the mechanism of flagella in bacteria, has played a role inmolecular genetics research.
Scientists conducted experiments on the cultivation of Bacillus Subtilis in conditions close to weightlessness, studying the change in population genomes. And these microorganisms are also used in studies of the influence of ultraviolet radiation from space, the adaptive abilities of living organisms to it. Using the example of hay sticks, they study the possibility of bacteria living in the conditions of other planets of the solar system (today, more and more attention is paid to Mars).
Quick Features
Bacteria of hay bacillus have a straight and elongated shape, blunt rounded ends, usually colorless. The average diameter is 0.6 microns, and the length varies - 3-8 microns. With these parameters, a hay stick under a microscope can be perfectly examined and even photographed using modern technologies. The bacillus is motile due to its flagella. They grow on the surface of the cell, and this can be seen in the pictures.
Habitat
Hay bacillus is traditionally classified as a soil microbe. It then gets on the leaves of plants, on fruits, vegetables. At the same time, it is found in the dust of the air, in the aquatic environment. And it is even a segment of the intestinal microflora in both animals and humans. It develops at temperatures from +5 to +45 degrees Celsius (optimally - around 30).
Hay stick. Reproduction
Like other bacteria, it reproduces by simple cell division (longitudinal). New organisms formed as a result of suchdividing in half, often remain interconnected by a thread. Such connections are easily visible in photographs.
Bacillus subtilis is a spore-forming microorganism. This allows you to survive in the event of adverse conditions for life. The sporulation of bacilli begins as follows: the contents of the cell acquire a granular structure. Some of the grains, more often in the central part, begins to grow, covered with a hard shell. At the same time, the shell of the original cell is destroyed. The final process ends with the extrusion of a characteristic spore into the external environment. Any of the cells after division retains its ability to form spores, most of which are round or oval. They are quite resistant to external factors and temperature rise - for example, they can withstand heating above 100 degrees Celsius. It is characteristic that a bacterium that has developed from a spore is immobile, and the ability to move appears only in subsequent generations of the microorganism.
How hay sticks eat
This bacterium is classified as a saprophyte, it feeds on dead organic matter. Being a heterotroph, hay bacillus cannot synthesize the substances necessary for its nutrition from inorganic matter. Therefore, it uses organic matter that was produced by other organisms. From it, she extracts the carbon necessary for energy exchange.
In nutrition, the main source is polysaccharides of vegetable (starch) and animal (glycogen) origin. The process produces amino acids,vitamins, various enzymes and antibiotics through synthesis.
Interaction with other microorganisms
This bacillus is able to suppress the development of opportunistic and pathogenic microbes: salmonella and streptococcus, staphylococcus and other "pests". For example, many generations of predators have developed a reflex to eat certain types of plants. And this method not only gives the body vitamins, but also contributes to the fact that spores of Bacillus Subtilis get there, which can destroy pathogenic varieties of microflora, while increasing immunity.
This bacillus can also serve as food for protozoa. For example, the beginning of the food chain may look like this: hay stick - ciliate shoe - a certain type of mollusk - fish - human.
Pathogenicity
According to various classifications, this bacillus is not pathogenic for both humans and animals. It is involved in the process of digestion of food, breaks down proteins with carbohydrates, fights pathogens of the intestines and skin of mammals. The researchers found that among the bacteria that are, for example, in the wounds of people, there is always a hay bacillus. It produces enzymes that destroy dead tissue, as well as antibiotics that inhibit pathogenic microflora, have a mild effect as an anti-allergic medicine. Proven by science: this bacterium also suppresses the development of infectious agents during surgical interventions.
But, however, the negative effect of this bacillus is also noted:can cause an allergy, expressed in a rash on the body; sometimes causes food poisoning after eating food spoiled by the vital activity of this microorganism; can cause severe human eye infection.
