This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wuytack, E. Y.
Right arrow Articles by Michiels, C. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wuytack, E. Y.
Right arrow Articles by Michiels, C. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Wuytack, E. Y.
Right arrow Articles by Michiels, C. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 1998, p. 3220-3224, Vol. 64, No. 9
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Comparative Study of Pressure-Induced Germination of Bacillus subtilis Spores at Low and High Pressures

Elke Y. Wuytack, Steven Boven, and Chris W. Michiels*

Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Received 13 May 1998/Accepted 2 July 1998

We have studied pressure-induced germination of Bacillus subtilis spores at moderate (100 MPa) and high (500 to 600 MPa) pressures. Although we found comparable germination efficiencies under both conditions by using heat sensitivity as a criterion for germination, the sensitivity of pressure-germinated spores to some other agents was found to depend on the pressure used. Spores germinated at 100 MPa were more sensitive to pressure (>200 MPa), UV light, and hydrogen peroxide than were those germinated at 600 MPa. Since small, acid-soluble proteins (SASPs) and dipicolinic acid (DPA) are known to be involved in spore resistance to UV light and hydrogen peroxide, we studied the fate of these compounds during pressure germination. DPA was released upon both low- and high-pressure germination, but SASP degradation, which normally accompanies nutrient-induced germination, occurred upon low-pressure germination but not upon high-pressure germination. These results adequately explain the UV and hydrogen peroxide resistance of spores germinated at 600 MPa. The resistance to pressure inactivation of 600-MPa-germinated spores could also, at least partly, be attributed to alpha /beta -type SASPs, since mutants deficient in alpha /beta -type SASPs were more sensitive to inactivation at 600 MPa. Further, germination at 100 MPa resulted in rapid ATP generation, as is the case in nutrient-induced germination, but no ATP was formed during germination at 600 MPa. These results suggest that spore germination can be initiated by low- and high-pressure treatments but is arrested at an early stage in the latter case. The implications for the use of high pressure as a preservation treatment are discussed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Food Microbiology, Kard. Mercierlaan 92, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Phone: 32-16-32.15.78. Fax: 32-16-32.19.60. E-mail: chris.michiels{at}agr.kuleuven.ac.be.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 1998, p. 3220-3224, Vol. 64, No. 9
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bull, M. K., Olivier, S. A., van Diepenbeek, R. J., Kormelink, F., Chapman, B. (2009). Synergistic Inactivation of Spores of Proteolytic Clostridium botulinum Strains by High Pressure and Heat Is Strain and Product Dependent. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 434-445 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Magge, A., Granger, A. C., Wahome, P. G., Setlow, B., Vepachedu, V. R., Loshon, C. A., Peng, L., Chen, D., Li, Y.-q., Setlow, P. (2008). Role of Dipicolinic Acid in the Germination, Stability, and Viability of Spores of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 4798-4807 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Margosch, D., Ehrmann, M. A., Buckow, R., Heinz, V., Vogel, R. F., Ganzle, M. G. (2006). High-Pressure-Mediated Survival of Clostridium botulinum and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Endospores at High Temperature.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 3476-3481 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Black, E. P., Koziol-Dube, K., Guan, D., Wei, J., Setlow, B., Cortezzo, D. E., Hoover, D. G., Setlow, P. (2005). Factors Influencing Germination of Bacillus subtilis Spores via Activation of Nutrient Receptors by High Pressure. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 5879-5887 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hornstra, L. M., de Vries, Y. P., de Vos, W. M., Abee, T., Wells-Bennik, M. H. J. (2005). gerR, a Novel ger Operon Involved in L-Alanine- and Inosine-Initiated Germination of Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 774-781 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Margosch, D., Ganzle, M. G., Ehrmann, M. A., Vogel, R. F. (2004). Pressure Inactivation of Bacillus Endospores. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 7321-7328 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Clery-Barraud, C., Gaubert, A., Masson, P., Vidal, D. (2004). Combined Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure and Temperature for Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Spores. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 635-637 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Watanabe, T., Furukawa, S., Hirata, J., Koyama, T., Ogihara, H., Yamasaki, M. (2003). Inactivation of Geobacillus stearothermophilus Spores by High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide Treatment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 7124-7129 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Paidhungat, M., Setlow, B., Daniels, W. B., Hoover, D., Papafragkou, E., Setlow, P. (2002). Mechanisms of Induction of Germination of Bacillus subtilis Spores by High Pressure. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 3172-3175 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nicholson, W. L., Munakata, N., Horneck, G., Melosh, H. J., Setlow, P. (2000). Resistance of Bacillus Endospores to Extreme Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Environments. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 64: 548-572 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pagán, R., Mackey, B. (2000). Relationship between Membrane Damage and Cell Death in Pressure-Treated Escherichia coli Cells: Differences between Exponential- and Stationary-Phase Cells and Variation among Strains. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 2829-2834 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wuytack, E. Y., Soons, J., Poschet, F., Michiels, C. W. (2000). Comparative Study of Pressure- and Nutrient-Induced Germination of Bacillus subtilis Spores. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 257-261 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»