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Release of Cores from Bacterial Spores by Mechanical Breakage in Acidic Media

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Abstract

THE dormant bacterial spore consists of a core surrounded by a structure called the cortex which in turn is bounded by a structure called the coat. The core contains cytoplasm plus nuclear material and the cortex contains mucopeptide1. The coat is mainly protein2,3 with a high cystine disulphide bond content4. We have been unable to liberate cores by enzymatic digestion of spore coats using a variety of proteolytic enzymes including keratinase5 before or after treatment of spores with reagents which rupture disulphide bonds6. We therefore investigated the possibility of releasing cores by mechanical breakage of spores.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unilever Research Laboratory, Colworth House, Sharnbrook, Bedford

    A. D. HITCHINS & G. W. GOULD

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  1. A. D. HITCHINS
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  2. G. W. GOULD
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HITCHINS, A., GOULD, G. Release of Cores from Bacterial Spores by Mechanical Breakage in Acidic Media. Nature 203, 895–896 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/203895b0

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