Bacillus cereus AS₃ and Bacillus cereus AS₅ are bacterial endophytes isolated from sterilized leaves of the medical plant Alectra sessiliflora, which were previously identified using 16S rRNA sequencing. Here, we present the whole-genome sequencing and annotation of strains AS₃ and AS₅, the first genome report of Bacillus cereus strains from A. sessiliflora. The genome of strain AS₃ has 59 contigs, 5 503 542 bp draft circular chromosome, an N50 of 211, 274 bp, and an average G+C content of 35. 2%; whereas strain AS₅ has 38 contigs, 5, 510, 121 bp draft circular chromosome, an N50 of 536, 033 bp, and an average G+C content of 35. 2%. A total of 5679 protein-coding genes, 62 genes coding for RNAs, and 122 pseudogenes in the strain AS₃ genome were identified by the National Center for Biotechnology Information Prokaryotic Annotation pipeline, whereas a total of 5688 gene protein-coding genes were identified in AS₅, with 60 genes coding for RNAs and 120 pseudogenes. Phenotypic analysis and whole-genome sequencing analysis showed that AS₃ and AS₅ share similar characteristics, including Gram-positive, motile, rod-shaped, and endospore-forming have shown a high sequence similarity with Bacillus cereus, type strain ATCC 14579T. Strains AS₃ and AS₅ had genomic digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) with the type strain Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579T of 85. 8% and 86%, respectively, and average nucleotide identities (ANIs) of 98% and 98. 01%, respectively. Phylogenomic analysis confirmed that strains AS₃ and AS₅ share very similar genomic and phenotypic characteristics, and are closely related to the type strain Bacillus cereus type strain ATCC 14579T, supporting their classification within the Bacillus cereus species. A total of 10 secondary metabolite gene clusters, including siderophore type petrobactin, terpene type molybdenum cofactor, non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) type bacillibactin, and β-lactone type fengycin, were predicted using AntiSMASH software (version 5. 0). Putative genes potentially involved in bioremediation and endophytic lifestyle were identified in the genome analysis. Genome sequencing of Bacillus cereus AS₃ and Bacillus cereus AS₅ has provided genomic information and demonstrated potential biotechnological applications.
Tshishonga et al. (Mon,) studied this question.