Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The influence of the cortex on protoplast dehydration in bacterial spores studied with light scattering

  • Published:
Current Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Individual, dormant spores ofBacillus sphaericus were studied with laser diffractometry. Correlation coefficients were obtained for the water content and radius of the protoplast and the water content and thickness of the integument of the spores. The coefficients showed that the states of the protoplast and the integument were interrelated. The water contents of the protoplast and the integument were positively correlated (ρ=0.73), and spores with thinner integuments had more dehydrated protoplasts. The coefficients were compared with qualitative predictions based on current models of the mechanism responsible for protoplast dehydration. The results did not support models involving an expansion of the cortex as the cause of the dehydration, but were consistent with cortex contraction and the model in which the cortex maintained rather than produced the dehydrated state of the protoplast.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  1. Alderton G, Snell N (1963) Base exchange and heat resistance in bacterial spores. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 10:139–143

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bayliss CE, Waites WM, King NR (1981) Resistance and structure of spores ofBacillus subtilis. J Appl Bacteriol 50:379–390

    Google Scholar 

  3. Beaman TC, Greenamyre JT, Corner TR, Pankratz HS, Gerhardt P (1982) Bacterial spore heat resistance correlated with water content, wet and dry density and protoplast/sporoplast volume ratio. J Bacteriol 150:870–877

    Google Scholar 

  4. Beaman TC, Koshikawa T, Pankratz HS, Gerhardt P (1984) Dehydration partitioned within core protoplast accounts for heat resistance of bacterial spores. FEMS Microbiol Lett 24:47–51

    Google Scholar 

  5. Ellar DJ (1978) Spore specific structures and their function. In: Stanier RY, Rogers HJ, Ward BJ (eds) Relations between structure and function in the procaryotic cell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp 295–325

    Google Scholar 

  6. Foster SJ, Johnstone K (1988) Germination-specific cortexlytic enzyme is activated during triggering ofBacillus megaterium KM spore germination. Mol Microbiol 2:727–733

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gould GW, Dring GJ (1976) Heat resistance of bacterial endospores and the concept of an expanded osmoregulatory cortex. Nature 258:402–405

    Google Scholar 

  8. Imae Y, Strominger JL (1976) Relationship between cortex content and properties ofBacillus sphaericus spores. J Bacteriol 126:907–913

    Google Scholar 

  9. Johnstone K, Ellar DJ (1982) The role of cortex hydrolysis in the triggering of germination ofBacillus magaterium KM spores. Biochim Biophys Acta 714:185–191

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lewis JC, Snell NS, Burr HK (1960) Water permeability of bacterial spores and the concept of a contractile cortex. Science 132:544–545

    Google Scholar 

  11. Ludlow IK, Kaye PH (1978) Scanning diffractometer for the rapid analysis of microparticles and biological cells. J Colloid Interface Sci 69:571–589

    Google Scholar 

  12. Mallidis CG, Scholefield J (1987) Relation of the heat resistance of bacterial spores to chemical composition and structure II. Relation to cortex and structure. J Appl Bacteriol 63:207–215

    Google Scholar 

  13. Marquis RE, Bender GE (1990) Compact structure of cortical peptidoglycan from bacterial spores. Can J Microbiol 36:426–429

    Google Scholar 

  14. Murrell WG (1981) Biophysical studies on the molecular mechanisms of spore heat resistance and dormancy. In: Levinson HS, Sonenshein AL, Tipper DJ (eds) Sporulation and germination. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology, pp 64–77

    Google Scholar 

  15. Pearce SM, Fitz-James PC (1971) Spore refractility in variants ofBacillus cereus treated with actinomycin D. J Bacteriol 107:337–344

    Google Scholar 

  16. Rogers HJ (1985) Peptidoglycans. In: Dring GJ, Ellar DJ, Gould GW (eds) Fundemantal and applied aspects of bacterial spores. London: Academic Press, pp 21–34

    Google Scholar 

  17. Ulanowski Z (1988) Investigations of microbial physiology and cell structure using laser diffractometry. PhD Thesis. Hatfield, UK: Hatfield Polytechnic

    Google Scholar 

  18. Ulanowski Z, Ludlow IK (1989) Water distribution, size and wall thickness inLycoperdon pyriforme spores. Mycol Res 93:28–32

    Google Scholar 

  19. Ulanowski Z, Ludlow IK, Waites WM (1987) Water content and size of bacterial spore components determined from laser diffractometry. FEMS Microbiol Lett 40:229–232

    Google Scholar 

  20. Waites WM, Stansfield R, Bayliss CE (1979) The effect of sporulation medium on the structure and heat resistance of spores ofClostridium bifermentans. FEMS Microbiol Lett 5:365–368

    Google Scholar 

  21. Warth AD (1978) Molecular structure of the bacterial spore. Adv Microb Physiol 17:1–45

    Google Scholar 

  22. Warth AD (1985) Mechanisms of heat resistance. In: Dring GJ, Ellar DJ, Gould GW (eds) Fundamental and applied aspects of bacterial spores. London: Academic Press, pp 209–225

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, AL 10 9AB, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK

    Zbigniew Ulanowski & Ian K. Ludlow

Authors
  1. Zbigniew Ulanowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ian K. Ludlow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ulanowski, Z., Ludlow, I.K. The influence of the cortex on protoplast dehydration in bacterial spores studied with light scattering. Current Microbiology 26, 31–35 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01577239

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01577239

Keywords

Search

Navigation