Lettuce seeds were germinated at different hydrostatic pressures and O(2) concentrations. Some combinations of pressure and O(2) concentration stimulated while others retarded germination. The highest germination rates which occurred with pressure application and added O(2) were equalled at atmospheric pressure if the O(2) concentration was increased sufficiently. Increasing pressure generally ...

Clostridium perfringens spores were injured by ultrahigh-temperature treatment at 105 C for 5 min. Injury was manifested as an increased sensitivity to polymyxin and neomycin. Since many of the survivors could not germinate normally the ultrahigh-temperature-treated spores were sensitized to and germinated by lysozyme. Polymyxin reportedly acts upon the cell membrane. Neomycin may inhibit prote...

1. Urine nucleoside phosphorylase was purified from the vegetative cells and spores of Bacillus cereus var. terminalis. The enzymes from the vegetative cell and the spore were found to have similar physical and catalytic properties. A mutant (strain 29) with only 2% of the level of enzyme activity in the vegetative cell also had a comparably low level in the spore. 2. The vegetative cell enzyme...

When heat-activated spores of Bacillus megaterium germinated in glucose-containing medium, 10 to 30% of the glucose was found to be oxidized to gluconate.

During germination of spores of Bacillus species the degradation of the spore's pool of small, acid-soluble proteins (SASP) is initiated by a protease termed GPR, the product of the gpr gene. Bacillus megaterium and B. subtilis mutants with an inactivated gpr gene grew, sporulated, and triggered spore germination as did gpr+ strains. However, SASP degradation was very slow during germination of...

We investigated how environmental factors initiate Heterosigma akashiwo and Skeletonema costatum blooms from resting stages in bottom sediments in a shallow port over 2 yr. Using field-collected sediments, we also conducted laboratory experiments on how light intensity affects germination of resting stages and growth of the germinated cells. Both phytoplankton species bloomed only in summer, wh...

The development of sperm cells (SCs) from microspores involves a set of finely regulated molecular and cellular events and the coordination of these events. The mechanisms underlying these events and their interconnections remain a major challenge. Systems analysis of genome-wide molecular networks and functional modules with high-throughput "omics" approaches is crucial for understanding the m...

alpha-Amylase is expressed in cotyledons of germinated Vigna mungo seeds and is responsible for the degradation of starch that is stored in the starch granule (SG). Immunocytochemical analysis of the cotyledon cells with anti-alpha-amylase antibody showed that alpha-amylase is transported to protein storage vacuole (PSV) and lytic vacuole (LV), which is converted from PSV by hydrolysis of stora...