Genomic Analysis of Surfactant-Producing Bacillus vallismortis TIM68: First Glimpse at Species Pangenome and Prediction of New Plipastatin-Like Lipopeptide.

Surfactants are applied in several industrial processes when the modification of interface activity and the stability of colloidal systems are required. Lipopeptides are a class of microbial biosurfactants produced by species of the Bacillus genus. The present study aimed at assembling and analyzing the genome of a new Bacillus vallismortis strain, TIM68, that was shown to produce surfactant lipopeptides. The draft genome was also screened for common virulence factors and antibiotics resistance genes to investigate the strain biosafety. Comparative genomics analyses, i.e., synteny, average nucleotide identity (ANI), and pangenome, were also carried out using strain TIM68 and publicly available B. vallismortis complete and partial genomes. Three peptide synthetase operons were found in TIM68 genome, and they were surfactin A, mojavensin, and a novel plipastatin-like lipopeptide named vallisin. No virulence factors that render pathogenicity to the strain have been identified, but a region of prophage, that may contain unknown pathogenic factors, has been predicted. The pangenome of the species was characterized as closed, with 57% of genes integrating the core genome. The results obtained here on the genetic potential of TIM68 strain should contribute to its exploration in biotechnological applications.