Emerging prospects of Bacillus species in attaining the sustainable development goals

Abstract

Bacillus species of bacteria own a global repute of falling into the category of Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) microbes (Bahaddad et al. 2023 ). However, certain members of this species including Bacillus cereus , Bacillus brevis , Bacillus alvei , Bacillus circulans , Bacillus infantis , Bacillus coagulans , Bacillus idriensis , Bacillus licheniformis , Bacillus laterosporus , Bacillus macerans , Bacillus sphaericus , Bacillus pumilus , Bacillus thuringiensis , and Bacillus subtilis can be pathogenic in nature and thus have been associated with discomforts and diseases (Bahaddad et al. 2023 ). The Bacillus spp. possesses the capacity of forming spores that can withstand harsh conditions, and these have recently displayed tremendous promise for use as probiotics (Kim et al. 2019a , b ; Soares et al. 2019 ). In addition, they are capable of producing antagonistic substances acting against a wide array of bacterial pathogens, providing extracellular digestive enzymes (β-glucanase, phytase, xylanase, protease, amylase, β-mannanase), which enhance nutrient absorption and feed digestibility, and regulate animal host immunity (Table 1 ) (Kumar and Bhalla 2004a , b ); Dutta and Ghosh 2015 ; Liu et al. 2015 ; Thakur et al. 2018 ). Bacillus direct-fed microbials (DFM) also proved their ability in enhancing both humoral and cellular immune responses mediated through raising solitary lymphoid follicle numbers in the mucosa of the intestine, controlling gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) development, enhancing macrophage function, and stimulating antibody responses post vaccination (Bahaddad et al. 2023 ). Various strains of a few Bacillus spp. are currently being employed as probiotic supplements in feeds of the animal. Other than that, their potential to develop into spores is advantageous as it facilitates long-term preservation without a decline in viability in contrast to those non-spore-forming bacteria. Moreover, spores can withstand harsh conditions like low pH of the gastric barrier and can successfully reach the small intestine to express their probiotic properties (Mingmongkolchai and Panbangred 2018 ). A noteworthy innovation in concrete technology constitutes developing self-healing cementitious materials by incorporating bacterial agents (Milović et al. 2024 ). This bio-inspired material uses microbial calcite precipitation for healing cracks developing autonomously, thus reducing maintenance costs and enhancing the durability of the material (Milović et al. 2024 ). Bacillus spp., particularly Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus pasteurii , are commonly used owing to their ability in thriving the high pH concrete environment and produce calcite, thereby effectively sealing micro-cracks (Wang et al. 2014 ; Vijay et al. 2017 ; Yamasamit et al. 2023 ). The research output was distributed throughout the globe, with North America, China, and India leading, as shown in Fig. 1 A. Whereas Fig. 1 B illustrates the annual number of research publications and the cumulative number of articles related to Bacillus spp.

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