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Sporulation

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 207 Accesses

Synonyms

Sporogenesis

Definition

Sporulation is a differentiation process of bacteria and fungi by which a vegetative cell becomes converted into a dormant structure. Bacteria of the genus Bacillus and Clostridium form endospores, i.e., spores inside the cell at the end of their growth period when nutrients become limited. During the different stages of the sporulation cycle, different proteins are synthesized. Sporulation includes the following subsequent steps: structural changes of DNA, septum formation, separation of spore DNA, synthesis of a prespore, engulfment, forespore formation, cortex formation, deposition of spore coats, spore maturation, lyses of the sporangium, and release of the spore. The released spore is more resistant to environmental stressing conditions than the vegetative mother cell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DLR German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology, Building 24, 51170, Köln, Germany

    Gerda Horneck

Authors
  1. Gerda Horneck
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Correspondence to Gerda Horneck .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Horneck, G. (2014). Sporulation. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1496-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1496-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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