AEM
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
AEM Accepts, published online ahead of print on 31 March 2008
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Other Versions of this Article:
AEM.02629-07v1
74/11/3328    most recent
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 Orsburn, B.
Right arrow Articles by Popham, D. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Orsburn, B.
Right arrow Articles by Popham, D. L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Orsburn, B.
Right arrow Articles by Popham, D. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.02629-07
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Factors contributing to heat resistance of Clostridium perfringens endospores

Benjamin Orsburn, Stephen B. Melville, and David L. Popham*

Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: dpopham{at}vt.edu.


  Abstract

The endospores formed by strains of Type A Clostridium perfringens that produce the C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) are known to be more resistant to heat and cold than strains that do not produce this toxin. The high heat resistance of these spores allows them to survive the cooking process, leading to a large number of food-poisoning cases each year. The relative importance of factors contributing to the establishment of heat resistance in this species is currently unknown. The present study examines the spores formed by both CPE+ and CPE- strains for factors known to affect heat resistance in other species. We have found that the concentrations of DPA and metal ions, the size of the spore core, and the protoplast to sporoplast ratio are determining factors affecting heat resistance in these strains. While the overall thickness of the spore peptidoglycan was found to be consistent in all strains, the relative amounts of cortex and germ cell wall peptidoglycan also appear to play a role in the heat resistance of these strains.




This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
J. Bacteriol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Eukaryot. Cell All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2008 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.