Relative frequency distribution of d(125 C) values for spore isolates from the mariner-Mars 1969 spacecraft.
Bacterial spore crops were prepared from 103 randomly selected aerobic mesophilic isolates collected during a spore assay of Mariner-Mars 1969 spacecraft conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. D(125 c) values, which were determined by the fractional-replicate-unit-negative-most-probable number assay method using a forced air oven, ranged from less than 5 min to a maximum of 58 min. Subsequent identification of the 103 isolates indicated that there was no relationship between species and dry-heat resistance. A theoretical dry-heat survival curve of the "population" was nonlinear. The slope of this curve was determined almost exclusively by the more resistant organisms, although they represented only a small portion of the "population."
Bond
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WW
Applied Microbiology and Planetary Quarantine Section, Phoenix Laboratories, Center for Disease Control, Phoenix, Arizona 85014.
Favero
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MS
Petersen
N J
NJ
Marshall
J H
JH