Dr. Jeff -- I think I remember you telling me that B. subtilis can dominate over almost all the other strains in a supplement bottle. For example  If there are 12 strains of bacteria in a supplement there will eventually only be B. Subtilis left over because it killed off  the majority of the rest of the strains. Did you find that some companies have done an anaylsis on this?

Firstly, I did mention the benefits. It has antifungal properties and antibacterial properties. Each of these can create problems, as they are the basis for antibiotic-resistant strains. The antifungal and antibacterial properties can initially create improvement and the resistant strains can create ongoing problems. There isn't any research that looks at this yet, but the basis for this is there in the literature. People who have come to my site and the Candida Support site offer testimonial to this phenomena as they improved at first, but then regressed. People who promote bacillus only promote positive studies, but even some of the positive studies raise questions as I pointed out in an earlier response.

This effect that was cited in one of the studies doesn't involve immunosuppression:
"the use in laundry products of B. subtilis derivatives
containing proteolytic enzymes has resulted in cases
of dermatitis and respiratory ailments (see Norris
et al., 1981)."

These results also didn't involve immunosuppressed individuals:
"Several episodes of food poisoning have been
attributed to B. subtilis; it has often been found in
almost pure culture in large numbers (> lo6 cfu/g)
in the implicated foods which were usually meat
dishes such as sausage rolls, meat pasties and stuffed
poultry but also included pizza and wholemeal
bread. Symptoms of vomiting, with diarrhoea in
more than half of the incidents, occurred after
incubation periods ranging from 15 min to 10 h
(Gilbert et al., 1981 ; Kramer et al., 1982)."

The next question becomes, "What qualifies a suppressed immune state in anyone?" With approximately 70-80% of the immune system localized in the gut, does flora imbalance as created by antibiotics and candida serve as qualification? What degree would? How would that be measured. The role of bacterial cells in regulating immune responses and the role of immune system tolerance need to be considered. The medical profession only looks at severe states of immunosuppression as a problem, but lesser states can also be problematic in the long run. Antibiotics and candida are associated with long-term results like cancer, obesity, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, etc. You can't judge their effects by short-term elimination of symptoms.

Anything that kills bacteria or fungus in large numbers can prime the nervous system for lifelong increases in inflammatory responses that lead to Alzheimers, Parkinsons, MS, etc. People who promote bacillus subtilis cite its ability to kill fungus and bacteria. With science showing that LPS and LTA from bacteria, and other studies showing over 200 intracellular toxins in candida alone, being able to prime the nervous system for ongoing chronic inflammation and degenration, killing bacteria and fungus isn't a safe bet for long-term health. That is an approach that aligns itself to the short-sighted medical approach, not the life-long holistic approach.

Consider this study where B. subtilis can acquire genes that enable it to produce other toxins as secreted by antibiotic-resistant strains:
"The transfer of gene sequences between strains of B. subtilis has been demonstrated when the strains were grown together in soil (Graham and Istock, 1979). In addition, Klier et al. (1983) demonstrated the ability of B. subtilis and B. thuringiensis to exchange high frequency transfer plasmids. Other studies have shown that B. subtilis has the ability to express and secrete toxins or components of the toxins that were acquired from other microorganisms through such transfers of genetic material. B. subtilis expressed subunits of toxins from Bordatella pertussis (Saris et al., 1990a, 1990b), as well as subunits of diphtheria toxin (Hemila et al., 1989) and pneumolysin A pneumococcal toxin (Taira et al., 1989). Although B. subtilis does not appear to possess indigenous virulence factor genes, it is theoretically possible that it may acquire such genes from other bacteria, particularly from closely related bacteria within the genus."
With such an ability, placing it into the human gut where antibiotic-resistance is going to be high in anyone who has had antibiotics adds another layer of concern.

And then B. subtilis produces its own enzymes which are capable of causing damage to human cells:
"A review of the literature by Edberg (1991) failed to reveal the production of toxins by B. subtilis. Although it has been associated with outbreaks of food poisoning (Gilbert et al., 1981 and Kramer et al., 1982 as cited by Logan, 1988), the exact nature of its involvement has not been established. B. subtilis, like other closely related species in the genus, B. licheniformis, B. pumulis, and B. megaterium, have been shown to be capable of producing lecithinase, an enzyme which disrupts membranes of mammalian cells."
As the study states, that has not yet been shown to occur in humans, but lack of evidence is not evidence of lack.

And B. subtilis does produce its own toxins and one of thes has been shown to affect humans:
"B. subtilis does produce an extracellular toxin known as subtilisin. Although subtilisin has very low toxigenic properties (Gill, 1982), this proteinaceous compound is capable of causing allergic reactions in individuals who are repeatedly exposed to it (Edberg, 1991). Sensitization of workers to subtilisin may be a problem in fermentation facilities where exposure to high concentration of this compound may occur. Exposure limits to subtilisin are regulated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (29 CFR 1900, et seq.)" Note that this is discussing repeated exposures, which is what takes place when someone takes a probiotic with B. subtilis in it.

This is how the EPA summarizes B. subtilis:
"As previously mentioned, B. subtilis produces a number of enzymes, including subtilisin, for use in laundry detergent products. There have been a number of cases of allergic or hypersensitivity reactions, including dermatitis and respiratory distress after the use of these laundry products (Norris et al., 1981).
B. subtilis has been shown to produce a wide variety of antibacterial and antifungal compounds (Katz and Demain, 1977; Korzybski et al., 1978). It produces novel antibiotics such as difficidin and oxydifficidin that have activity against a wide spectrum of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria (Zimmerman et al., 1987) as well as more common antibiotics such as bacitracin, bacillin, and bacillomycin B (Parry et al., 1983). The use of B. subtilis as a biocontrol agent of fungal plant pathogens is being investigated because of the effects of antifungal compounds on Monilinia fructicola (McKeen et al., 1986), Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus (Kimura and Hirano, 1988), and Rhizoctonia (Loeffler et al., 1986)."

The good and bad about Bacillus subtilis are in the studies. There are some real concerns on my part when looking at the negative effects. Why would I risk someone's health while those exist. There are probably thousands of species of bacteria present in the gut and you keep citing a study that only shows benefit towards one strain, while the science shows that "It produces novel antibiotics such as difficidin and oxydifficidin that have activity against a wide spectrum of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. 

I used to use Bacillus Coagulans in my probiotic mix, but when I switched manufacturers, the new one didn't want to formulate with the Bacillus species as they generate spores that can destroy the other probiotic bacteria present in their facilities.

If you're having good results, it's up to you as to whether or not you want to keep using it in light of all the questions around this species. I'll keep presenting the good and the bad. I realize that people will draw their own conclusions and act accordingly. I don't sell products, I sell solutions.