The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis forms spores when conditions are unsuitable for growth. The spores are encased in a multilayered shell that includes a cortex and a spore coat, and remain viable for long periods in the harsh environment. In the present article, recent progress in our understanding of the outer structure of B. subtilis spores is reviewed in the Japanese language. Al...

The action spectra of Bacillus subtilis spores (ATCC6633) and Salmonella typhimurium LT2 were characterized using physical radiometry for irradiance measurements and a multiple target model to interpret the inactivation kinetics. The observed action spectrum of B. subtilis spores deviated significantly from the relative absorbance spectrum of the DNA purified from the spores, but matched quite ...

Germination of Bacillus spores requires degradation of a modified layer of peptidoglycan (PG) termed the spore cortex by two redundant cortex-lytic enzymes (CLEs), CwlJ and SleB, plus SleB's partner protein, YpeB. In this study, in vitro and in vivo analyses have been used to clarify the roles of individual SleB and YpeB domains in PG degradation. Purified mature Bacillus cereus SleB without it...

In a previous paper, El-Bisi and Ordal (1956a) reported that increased levels of phosphate, in the growth and sporulation medium, significantly reduced the thermal resistance of spores of Bacillus coagulans var. thermoacidurans. It was postulated that the phosphate anion lessened the availability of divalent cations to the sporulating cells and that spores so produced possessed a reduced therma...

The pressure resistances of the spores of six Bacillus strains were examined at 5 to 10(deg)C and were compared with their heat resistances. The pressure treatments (at 981 MPa for 40 min and at 588 MPa for 120 min) did not inactivate the spores of B. stearothermophilus IAM12043, B. subtilis IAM12118, and B. licheniformis IAM13417. However, these spores had large differences in heat resistance....

Bacterial endospores in the genus Bacillus are considered good models for studying interplanetary transfer of microbes by natural or human processes. Although spore survival during transfer itself has been the subject of considerable study, the fate of spores in extraterrestrial environments has received less attention. In this report we subjected spores of a strain of Bacillus subtilis, contai...

Methionine residues in alpha/beta-type small, acid-soluble spore proteins (SASP) of Bacillus species were readily oxidized to methionine sulfoxide in vitro by t-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). These oxidized alpha/beta-type SASP no longer bound to DNA effectively, but DNA binding protected alpha/beta-type SASP against methionine oxidation by peroxides in vitro. Incubatio...

Multilayered protein coats are crucial to the dormancy, robustness, and germination of bacterial spores. In Bacillus subtilis spores, the coat contains over 70 distinct proteins. Identifying which proteins reside in each layer may provide insight into their distinct functions. We present image analysis methods that determine the order and geometry of concentric protein layers by fitting a model...

Heated scallop-shell (HSS) nano-particles, prepared using a wet grinding mill, and microparticles were examined for their antibacterial activity against vegetative bacterial cells and spores. The median diameters of the nano-particles and micro-particles were approximately 20 nm and 30 µm, respectively. The antibacterial activity of HSS against Escherichia coli increased with an increase in con...