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. 1964 Oct;88(4):821–830. doi: 10.1128/jb.88.4.821-830.1964

TRACE METAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SPORULATION OF BACILLUS MEGATERIUM1

Bruno J Kolodziej a,2, Ralph A Slepecky a,3
PMCID: PMC314820  PMID: 14219042

Abstract

Kolodziej, Bruno J. (Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.), and Ralph A. Slepecky. Trace metal requirements for sporulation of Bacillus megaterium. J. Bacteriol. 88:821–830. 1964.—A sucrose-mineral salts medium was purified for the purpose of definitively re-examining the trace metal cations associated with the sporulation of Bacillus megaterium. Two heretofore unknown requirements for copper (0.013 μg/ml of cupric ion) and molybdenum (27.2 μg/ml of molybdate ion) were uncovered. In the purified copper-supplemented medium, sporulation levels of other metals were determined as follows: iron, 0.5 μg/ml of ferrous ion; zinc, 1.1 μg/ml of zinc ion; manganese, 0.037 μg/ml of manganous ion; and calcium, 0.9 μg/ml of calcium ion. The approximate time during which the various metals were required was determined with iron, zinc, calcium, and manganese. A molybdenum substitution for copper, iron, or zinc was noted. The copper requirement was shown for the sporulation of B. cereus var. mycoides and var. albolactis, suggesting that this may be a general requirement for sporulation. The specific functions of metal ions in sporulation are not known, but they probably act as activators of the various enzyme systems necessary for sporulation.

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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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