Sporulation at reduced water activity impairs germination kinetics of <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> spores.

ABSTRACT: While the effect of sporulation temperature on spore germination has been extensively studied, the effect of other relevant environmental factors such as water activity (a_w) has been overlooked, despite the fact that sporulation niches with lower humidity than ideal culture media, such as soil, are common in nature. In this work, we characterized the germination kinetics of B. subtilis 168 spores produced at reduced a_w (0.98) using either glycerol (S_gly spores) or NaCl (S_salt spores) in comparison to spores prepared under optimal conditions (S_control spores, a_w ~0.99) in a variety of nutrient and chemical stimuli, along with the effect of thermal activation. Spores produced at reduced a_w</

SUBMITTER: Freire V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12285231 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature