Memory of Germinant Stimuli in Bacterial Spores.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Bacterial spores, despite being metabolically dormant, possess the remarkable capacity to detect nutrients and other molecules in their environment through a biochemical sensory apparatus that can trigger spore germination, allowing the return to vegetative growth within minutes of exposure of germinants. We demonstrate here that bacterial spores of multiple species retain memory of transient exposures to germinant stimuli that can result in altered responses to subsequent exposure. The magnitude and decay of these memory effects depend on the pulse duration as well as on the separation time, incubation temperature, and pH values between the pulses. Spores of Bacillus species germinate in response to nutrients that interact with germinant receptors (GRs) in the spore's i

SUBMITTER: Wang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4669388 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature