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B. anthracis is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped spore forming opportunistic pathogenic bacterium which causes anthrax, a deadly zoönotic disease. It is regarded as a potential bioweapon due to its ability to survive in the form of dormant spores and germinates easily whenever it finds a favourable medium (a host). We focused on a prophage-borne DNA methyltransferase which could exert epigenetic gene regulation due to methylation, and the restriction modification systems. B. anthracis has only type â…£ restriction endonucleases that form the bacterial defence system against phages. Unlike type â…¡ restriction endonucleases, type â…£ is least studied and specifically acts on methylated DNA sequences. Of the type â…£ restriction endonucleases, Mrr has been observed in Gram-negative bacteria to transduce SOS response under stress. Since B. anthracis has an ability to develop resistance against a range of antibiotics, it has become crucial to search for potential alternative drug targets from bacterial metabolic pathways. Therefore, we examined the expression of type â…£ restriction endonucleases, DNA methyltransferase and virulence factors under different stress related conditions and looked for potential drug targets apart from the well-known virulence genes.
Keywords: Bacillus anthracis, DNA methyltransferase, type â…£ restriction endonuclease, SOS response, virulence factors.
