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Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Detecting Cortex Fragments During Bacterial Spore Germination
Published on: June 25, 2016
Electrochemical potential enables dormant spores to integrate environmental signals
Kaito Kikuchi1, Leticia Galera-Laporta1, Colleen Weatherwax1
1Molecular Biology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Abstract:
The dormant state of bacterial spores is generally thought to be devoid of biological activity. We show that despite continued dormancy, spores can integrate environmental signals over time through a preexisting electrochemical potential. Specifically, we studied thousands of individual Bacillus subtilis spores that remain dormant when exposed to transient nutrient pulses. Guided by a mathematical model of bacterial electrophysiology, we modulated the decision to exit dormancy by genetically and chemically targeting potassium ion flux. We confirmed that short nutrient pulses result in step-like changes in the electrochemical potential of persistent spores. During dormancy, spores thus gradually release their stored electrochemical potential to integrate extracellular information over time. These findings reveal a decision-making mechanism that operates in physiologically inactive cells.
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