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Role of Amino Acids in Germination of Bacillus licheniformis Spores. II. Effect on Radioactive Spores¹

Department of Dairy Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus

ABSTRACT

The distribution of radioactivity in the cytoplasm, spore coats, and exudates during germination of Bacillus licheniformis spores labeled with radioactive L-alanine and L-valine was determined. When the radioactive spores were germinated with nonradioactive L-alanine and L-valine, radioactivity was released after germination medium, with very little radioactivity released after germination was complete. Most of the radioactivity had its origin in the cytoplasm in L-alanine-induced germination, but with L-valine approximately 50% of the radioactivity was released from the spore coats.

The radioactivity released was associated with ninhydrin-positive components on paper chromatograms, one at the point of application to the paper, the other at the Rf value of alanine. When L-alanine was used to germinate the spores, the greater portion of radioactivity (66%) was in the alanine spot. When L-valine was the germinant, approximately 50% of the radioactivity in the exudates remained as a nonmohile ninhydrin-positive component.

When radioactive spores were germinated with L-alanine, free D-alanine was released into the germination medium, with the concentration increasing throughout a 4-hr incubation period. D-alanine was not released when L-valine was used as the spore germinant.

Spores germinated with either L-alanine or L-valine also released dipicolinic acid (DPA) into the germination medium after germination. The release of DPA was somewhat slower than that of D-alanine, with D-alanine appearing in the germination exudates during the process of germination, and DPA being released only after germination was practically complete.

¹ Article no. 4-65. This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Grant No. EF-00180-05 from the Division of Environmental Engineering and Food Protection, Bureau of State Service.