title: Imaging and analysis of Bacillus anthracis spore germination.
abstract: External and internal changes occurring during the process of germination of Bacillus anthracis spores were observed through atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. AFM studies showed that in response to L-alanine (4 mM), as a germinant, the spore germinates into a vegetative cell in 3 hours. The temporal size changes occurring during the germination were gradual but the major change in size was observed between the second and third hour. TEM of spores showed the presence of varied layers, which is in accordance with previous studies. However, the integrity of these layers was lost gradually during the process of germination. The inner spore membrane remains intact even until late stages of germination, whereas the coat, outer spore membrane, and the cortical layers are discarded at the second-hour stage. The results indicate that sequential changes during the germination of a B. anthracis spore are similar to other species of the Bacillus group.
authors: Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Mall Road, Delhi, India.
authors: Mohd Saif
authors: MS
authors: Zaman
authors: Anita
authors: A
authors: Goyal
authors: Gyanendra Prakash
authors: GP
authors: Dubey
authors: Pradeep K
authors: PK
authors: Gupta
authors: Harish
authors: H
authors: Chandra
authors: Taposh K
authors: TK
authors: Das
authors: Munia
authors: M
authors: Ganguli
authors: Yogendra
authors: Y
authors: Singh
mesh_terms: D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure