Release of Ca(2+) with dipicolinic acid (CaDPA) was monitored by Raman spectroscopy and differential interference contrast microscopy during germination of individual spores of Bacillus subtilis strains with alterations in GerD and SpoVA proteins. Notable conclusions about germination after the addition of nutrient were as follows. (i) Following L-alanine addition, wild-type and gerD spores and...

Clostridium perfringens type A is the causative agent of a variety of histotoxic and enteric diseases. The ability of C. perfringens spores to germinate in vivo might be due to the presence of nutrient germinants in the host tissue and blood. In the current study, we investigated the ability of spores of C. perfringens wild-type and mutation strains to germinate in blood. Results indicate that ...

BACKGROUND Germination is the irreversible loss of spore-specific properties prior to outgrowth. Because germinating spores become more susceptible to killing by stressors, induction of germination has been proposed as a spore control strategy. However, this strategy is limited by superdormant spores that remain unaffected by germinants. Harsh chemicals and heat activation are effective for sti...

Short exposures of Bacillus spores to nutrient germinants can commit spores to germinate when germinants are removed or their binding to the spores' nutrient germinant receptors (GRs) is inhibited. Bacillus subtilis spores were exposed to germinants for various periods, followed by germinant removal to prevent further commitment. Release of spore dipicolinic acid (DPA) was then measured by diff...

Spores of Clostridium perfringens possess high heat resistance, and when these spores germinate and return to active growth, they can cause gastrointestinal disease. Work with Bacillus subtilis has shown that the spore's dipicolinic acid (DPA) level can markedly influence both spore germination and resistance and that the proteins encoded by the spoVA operon are essential for DPA uptake by the ...

The inactivation effects of high pressure CO2 + nisin (simultaneous treatment of HPCD and nisin, HPCD + nisin), HPCD→nisin (HPCD was followed by nisin), and nisin→HPCD (nisin was followed by HPCD) treatments on Bacillus subtilis spores in aqueous solutions were compared. The spores were treated by HPCD at 6.5 or 20 MPa, 84-86°C and 0-30 min, and the concentration of nisin was 0.02%. Treated spo...

Inhalational anthrax is initiated by the entry of Bacillus anthracis spores into the lung. A critical early event in the establishment of an infection is the dissemination of spores from the lung. Using in vitro cell culture assays, we previously demonstrated that B. anthracis spores are capable of entering into epithelial cells of the lung and crossing a barrier of lung epithelial cells withou...

Spores of Bacillus subtilis possess a thick protein coat that consists of an electron-dense outer coat layer and a lamellalike inner coat layer. The spore coat has been shown to confer resistance to lysozyme and other sporicidal substances. In this study, spore coat-defective mutants of B. subtilis (containing the gerE36 and/or cotE::cat mutation) were used to study the relative contributions o...

The electrophoretic behaviour of freshly harvested spores of Aspergillus niger, Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Geotrichum candidum was determined in solution at various pH values. Freshly harvested spores of all three species lacked positive mobility at low pH values, suggesting a preponderance of acidic surface groups. Spores of the ‘non-aggregating’ fungus, G. candidum, had a pH-mobility cur...

Spores of Bacillus subtilis spoVF strains that cannot synthesize dipicolinic acid (DPA) but take it up during sporulation were prepared in medium with various DPA concentrations, and the germination and viability of these spores as well as the DPA content in individual spores were measured. Levels of some other small molecules in DPA-less spores were also measured. These studies have allowed th...