Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Bacillus cereus , Gram-positive, encapsulated, rod prokaryote (vegetative and spore stages); dividing. Causes food poisoning. Bacillus cereus, Gram-positive, encapsulated, rod prokaryote; causes food poisoning and diarrhoea. It is a motile, beta haemolytic bacterium commonly found in soil and food. Some strains are harmful to humans and cause foodborne illness. Other strains can be beneficial as probiotics for animals. It is the cause of fried rice syndrome, as the bacteria are classically contracted from fried rice dishes that have been sitting at room temperature for hours. B. cereus bacteria are facultative anaerobes, and like other members of the genus Bacillus, can produce protective endospores. Its virulence factors include cereolysin and phospholipase C. It was from this species that two new enzymes, named AlkC and AlkD, which are involved in DNA repair. Magnification: x1, 600 when shortest axis