Populations of Bacillus subtilis spores in which 90 to 99.9% of the spores had been killed by moist heat gave only two fractions on equilibrium density gradient centrifugation: a fraction comprised of less dense spores that had lost their dipicolinic acid (DPA), undergone significant protein denaturation, and were all dead and a fraction with the same higher density as that of unheated spores. ...

Spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 treated with thioglycolate (0.4 m, pH 2.6) at 50 C for 30 min remained refractile, but they became stainable, lysozymesensitive, and nonviable, and they lost dipicolinic acid (DPA). The loss of DPA and of viability were functions of the time and temperature of exposure to thioglycolate. Spores treated with thioglycolate at a lower temperature and for a sho...

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...

Complexation of NpO(2)(+) with dipicolinic acid (DPA) has been investigated in 1 M NaClO(4) at 25 degrees C. Two complexes, NpO(2)(DPA)(-) and NpO(2)(DPA)(2)(3-), were identified, and the stability constants (log beta(1) and log beta(2)) were determined to be 8.68 and 12.31, respectively, by spectrophotometry. The enthalpies of the complexation (DeltaH(1) and DeltaH(2)) were measured to be -25....

Dormant Bacillus subtilis spores germinate in the presence of particular nutrients called germinants. The spores are thought to recognize germinants through receptor proteins encoded by the gerA family of operons, which includes gerA, gerB, and gerK. We sought to substantiate this putative function of the GerA family proteins by characterizing spore germination in a mutant strain that contained...

Dormant Bacillus subtilis spores can be induced to germinate by nutrients, as well as by nonmetabolizable chemicals, such as a 1:1 chelate of Ca(2+) and dipicolinic acid (DPA). Nutrients bind receptors in the spore, and this binding triggers events in the spore core, including DPA excretion and rehydration, and also activates hydrolysis of the surrounding cortex through mechanisms that are larg...

Donnellan, J. Edward, Jr. (U.S. Army Natick Laboratories, Natick, Mass.), Ella H. Nags, and Hillel S. Levinson. Chemically defined, synthetic media for sporulation and for germination and growth of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 87:332-336. 1964.-From 90 to 130 mg (dry weight) of spores (about 1% dark forms) were obtained (per liter) from a chemically defined, synthetic medium, with a two-pha...