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. 1970 Feb;101(2):418–422. doi: 10.1128/jb.101.2.418-422.1970

Low-pH Activation of Bacillus cereus Spores

Gabriela Issahary 1, Z Evenchik 1, A Keynan 1
PMCID: PMC284922  PMID: 4984072

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.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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