Mechanisms of Bacterial Spore Germination and Its Heterogeneity
Abstract
Great progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of Bacillus and Clostridium spore germination and its heterogeneity in the 5+ years of the MURI award. The following advances have been made: 1) high resolution structures of four germination proteins have been determined; 2) reasons for the heterogeneity in rates of spore germination have been determined, a major one being variations in levels of germinant receptors (GRs) between individual spores; 3) many factors modulating GR levels in spores have been identified; 4) a number of new early events in germination have been identified including acquisition of spore memory of germinant exposure, and a drastic change in spore inner membrane properties; 5) GRs in B. subtilis spores were shown to assemble in a single focus in spores' inner membrane in a GerD protein dependent manner; 6) large numbers of refinements have been made in technology to simultaneously examine the germination of 100s of individual spores; 7) high-pressure germination of multiple individual spores has been examined; 8) a mathematical model describing spore germination has been developed; 9) much of the work above has been extended to Clostridium spores; and 10) approximately 90 research papers have or will be published.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 10, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA624216
Entities
People
- Peter Setlow
Organizations
- University of Connecticut Health Center