A bioassay method was developed to measure the average intensity within a UV disinfection reactor. The survival of spores of Bacillus subtilis was determined as a function of UV dose to prepare a standard curve. Spores were added to unknown systems, and the survival rate was used to determine the average intensity. A modification was used for flow-through reactors by which spores were injected ...

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 heat resistance of dry bacterial spores was tested in various gases at temperatures ranging from 121.1 to 160 C (250 to 320 F). Spores of Clostridium sporogenes (PA 3679) were heated in air, carbon dioxide, and helium; spores of Bacillus subtilis 5230 were heated in these gases and also in oxygen and in nitrogen. The surrounding gas influenced the heat resistance, but the differences among ...

This work was undertaken to obtain information on levels of metabolism in dormant spores of Bacillus species incubated for weeks at physiological temperatures. Spores of Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus subtilis strains were harvested shortly after release from sporangia and incubated under various conditions, and dormant spore metabolism was monitored by P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) anal...

This study is aimed at the development and application of a convenient and rapid optical assay to monitor the wet-heat resistance of bacterial endospores occurring in food samples. We tested the feasibility of measuring the release of the abundant spore component dipicolinic acid (DPA) as a probe for heat inactivation. Spores were isolated from the laboratory type strain Bacillus subtilis 168 a...