title: Heat resistance, spore germination, and enterotoxigenicity of Clostridium perfringens.
abstract: Heat resistance at 95 C, heat activation at 75 C, and germination response were determined for spores of 10 serotype strains of Clostridium perfringens type A, including five heat-resistant and five heat-sensitive strains. The D95-values ranged from 17.6 to 63.0 and from 1.3 to 2.8 for the heat-resistant and the heat-sensitive strains, respectively. The heat-activation values, the ratios between the heated and unheated viable counts of spore suspensions, ranged from 0.0035 to 0.65 and from 6.5 to 60.0 for the heat-sensitive and the heat-resistant strains, respectively. Spores of these strains were divided into two distinct germination types on the basis of their germination response; spores of the heat-resistant strains germinated in KC1 medium after heat activation (K-type), and spores of the heat-sensitive strains germinated in a mixture of L-alanine, inosine, and CaCl2 in the presence of CO2 without heat activation (A-type). The strains were tested for enterotoxigenicity by a reversed passive latex-agglutination (RPLA) test. All the heat-resistant strains were RPLA-positive, whereas the heat-sensitive strains were all RPLA-negative. A total of 37 strains of the organism isolated from food-poisoning outbreaks were tested for spore germination and enterotoxin formation. All of the 20 heat-resistant strains showed K-type spore germination and, except for three strains, were RPLA-positive, whereas all of the 17 heat-sensitive strains showed A-type spore germination and, except for only one strain, were RPLA-negative.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuzuki
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sunagawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D000409:Alanine / Q000378:metabolism; D002122:Calcium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000502:physiology*; D003470:Culture Media; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007288:Inosine / Q000378:metabolism; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism; D013171:Spores, Bacterial
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004768:Enterotoxins; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D007288:Inosine; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D002122:Calcium Chloride; D000409:Alanine