Potential Enterotoxicity of Phylogenetically Diverse Bacillus cereus Sensu Lato Soil Isolates from Different Geographical Locations.

comprises Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria producing toxins associated with foodborne diseases. Three pore-forming enterotoxins, nonhemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe), hemolysin BL (Hbl), and cytotoxin K (CytK), are considered the primary factors in diarrhea. The aim of this study was to determine the potential risk of enterotoxicity among soil isolates representing diverse phylogroups and originated from different geographic locations with various climates (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Poland). While - and -positive isolates were present among all populations and distributed across all phylogenetic groups, -positive strains predominated in geographic regions with an arid hot climate (Africa) and clustered together on a phylogenetic tree mainly within mesophilic groups III and IV. The highest cytotoxicity to Caco-2 and HeLa cells was demonstrated by the strains clustered within phylogroups II and IV. Overall, our results suggest that pathogenicity is a comprehensive process conditioned by many intracellular factors and diverse environmental conditions. This research offers a new route for a wider understanding of the dependency between pathogenicity and phylogeny of a natural bacterial population, specifically within , that is widely distributed around the world and easily transferred into food products. Our study indicates differences in the phylogenetic and geographical distributions of potential enterotoxigenic strains. Hence, these bacilli possess a risk for human health, and rapid testing methods for their identification are greatly needed. In particular, the detection of the CytK enterotoxin should be a supporting strategy for the identification of pathogenic .