LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Tapping into the unknown world of awakening
dormant bacterial spores, researchers have revealed through
atomic force microscopy (AFM) the alterations of spore coat and
germ cell wall that accompany the transformation from a spore to
a vegetative cell. When starved of nutrients Bacillus (rod-
shaped bacteria) cells initiate a series of genetic, biochemical
and structural events that result in the formation of
metabolically dormant spores. They can remain dormant for
extended periods and, partly because of their tough spore coat,
have a significant resistance to extreme environmental factors
including heat, radiation and toxic chemicals. However, once in
favorable conditions, spores break the dormant state through
germination and reenter the vegetative mode of replication.
Although significant progress has been made in understanding the
biochemical and genetic bases of the spore germination process,
it is still unclear how a spore breaks out of its dormant state.
But a new in vitro study of