Pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (dipicolinic acid [DPA]) constitutes approximately 10% of Bacillus subtilis spore dry weight and has been shown to play a significant role in the survival of B. subtilis spores exposed to wet heat and to 254-nm UV radiation in the laboratory. However, to date, no work has addressed the importance of DPA in the survival of spores exposed to environmentally relevant...

Understanding of structure–affinity relationships is crucial for rational receptor design, however, such studies for anion receptors are still limited. Therefore, we investigated this issue in the case of amide-based macrocyclic receptors derived from aromatic diacids (i.e., isophthalic and dipicolinic). Using these model compounds, we examined the macrocyclic effect, the influence of intramole...

We propose to develop an integrated rapid, semiportable, prototype point microbial detection/identification system for clinical specimens that is also capable of differentiating microbial bioterrorism attacks from threats or hoaxes by defining the pathogen. The system utilizes "flash" extraction/analytical system capable of detection/identification of microbes from environmental and clinical ma...

The sn-1,2-diacylglycerol kinase homologue gene, dgkA, is a sporulation gene indispensable for the maintenance of spore stability and viability in Bacillus subtilis. After 6 h of growth in resuspension medium, the endospore morphology of the dgkA mutant by standard phase-contrast microscopy was normal; however, after 9 h, the endospores appeared mostly dark by phase-contrast microscopy, suggest...

The effect of hydrostatic pressures as high as 1,700 atm at 25 C on the heat and radiation resistance of Bacillus pumilus spores was studied. Phosphate-buffered spores were more sensitive to compression than spores suspended in distilled water. Measurements of the turbidity of suspensions, the viability, refractility, stainability, dry weight, and respiratory activity of spores, and calcium and...

A fully automated anthrax smoke detector (ASD) has been developed and tested. The ASD is intended to serve as a cost effective front-end monitor for anthrax surveillance systems. The principle of operation is based on measuring airborne endospore concentrations, where a sharp concentration increase signals an anthrax attack. The ASD features an air sampler, a thermal lysis unit, a syringe pump,...

Raman tweezers and quantitative differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy are combined to monitor the dynamic germination of individual bacterial spores of Bacillus species, as well as the heterogeneity in this process. The DIC bias phase is set properly such that the brightness of DIC images of individual spores is proportional to the dipicolinic acid (DPA) level of the spores, and a...

In the title compound, (C(4)H(14)N(2))[Cu(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(2)]·3H(2)O or (bdaH(2))[Cu(pydc)(2)]·3H(2)O (where bda is butane-1,4-diamine and pydcH(2) is pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid), the Cu(II) atom is coordinated by four O atoms [Cu-O = 2.0557 (16)-2.3194 (16) Å] and two N atoms [Cu-N = 1.9185 (18) and 1.9638 (18) Å] from two chelating rings of the pydc(2-) anions, which act as tridentate liga...

where N/No is the fractional survival of the spore colony-forming ability, V is the "target volume" parameter in appropriate units, I is the radiation dose, and n is an integer (Woese, 1958a, b; Donnelan and Morowitz, 1957). The second equation is derived on the assumption that the radiosensitive portion of the spore consists of n pairs of targets, and survival occurs so long as one member of e...