Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Detecting Cortex Fragments During Bacterial Spore Germination
Published on: June 25, 2016
Low-pH activation of Bacillus cereus spores
Abstract:
Heat activation of bacterial spores at low pH was investigated in detail. Unlike activation of spores in distilled water at a neutral pH, activation at low pH involves two superimposed processes: enhanced activation and death. Low-pH-activated spores failed to germinate in d-alanine, in contrast to spores activated at neutral pH, owing to the abolition of alanine-racemase activity. Morphological and permeability changes such as release and partial disruption of spores were dipicolinic acid-observed during low-pH activation. The kinetics pattern of low-pH activation, as well as the change in properties of the spores thereafter, suggest that the mechanism of low-pH activation differs from that of other kinds of heat-activation.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Endospores and Sporulation
Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Bacterial Phylum Actinobacteria
Production of Biopesticides
Regulation of Bacterial Virulence
Inhalation Anthrax

