title: Isolation and characterization of Bacillus subtilis spores that are superdormant for germination with dodecylamine or Ca2+ -dipicolinic acid.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To isolate and characterize spores superdormant (SD) for germination with either Ca(2+)-dipicolinic acid (CaDPA) or dodecylamine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bacillus subtilis spores were germinated three times with either CaDPA or dodecylamine and germinated spores removed after each germination treatment, yielding 0.9% (CaDPA-SD spores) or 0.4% (dodecylamine-SD spores) of initial dormant spores. Compared to dormant spores, CaDPA-SD spores germinated poorly with CaDPA and better with dodecylamine and nutrient germinants, although release of DPA from individual CaDPA-SD spores was slow during nutrient germination, and this germination was strongly inhibited by TbCl3. The CaDPA-SD spores were sensitive to hypochlorite and had elevated levels of nutrient germinant receptors (GRs) relative to levels in dormant spores. Dodecylamine-SD spores' germination with dodecylamine and nutrients was similar to that of dormant spores, their germination with Ca-DPA was slower than that of dormant spores, and these SD spores' GR levels were lower than in dormant spores. However, dodecylamine-SD spores were not sensitive to hypochlorite, and the nutrient germination of these SD spores was only partially inhibited by TbCl3 .
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CaDPA-SD spores appear to have a coat defect and accompanying low levels of the cortex-lytic enzyme CwlJ. The defect in dodecylamine-SD spores, however, is not clear.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that triggering germination by non-GR-dependent germinants is a potential strategy for efficient spore inactivation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-3305, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perez-Valdespino
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Cammett
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Y-q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Setlow
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000737:chemistry*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000502:physiology*; D010848:Picolinic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D010848:Picolinic Acids; C004860:dipicolinic acid; C003935:dodecylamine