The amazing traditional Japanese fermented soybeans

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This is the bacteria Bacillus subtilis. The Bacillus category of bacteria includes the natto bacterium, which is present in soils.

Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, motile, rod-shaped, facultative aerobe. It is primarily found in soil and plants. their optimal growth occurs between the temperatures of 25 and 35 degrees Celsius. Antibiotics can be produced and secreted by this bacteria.  

In most cases, B. subtilis forms small clumps, short chains and single cells. its cell wall is surrounded by peptidoglycan which creates form and structure for the cell. Peptidoglycan is a complex polymer that is made up of long chains of glucose that are connected by amino acids.

The soybeans are first soaked then cooked before the addition of the bacillus subtilis and fermented at 40 degrees celcius for 24 hours. the natto is then cooled and is set aside and given time to mature in the refrigerator for a week to allow for the stringiness to develop.

B. subtilis has shown the capability of growing over a wide range of temperatures including that of human bodies and there can be found colonizing the gastrointestinal tract in humans. However, it is not considered a harmful to humans, plants or animals.
B. subtilis does produce a toxin known as subtilisin, it has the ability to cause allergies for a person who has been in the presence of this toxin repeatedly. However, this toxin has very low toxigenic properties.

It was found that there were no safety hazards of B. subtilis and therefore it has been used as an animal feed ingredient.