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Analysis of the mRNAs in Spores of Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 2019; 201:JB.00007-19. [PMID: 30782632 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00007-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 02/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Large-scale shotgun sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of mRNAs in dormant Bacillus subtilis spores prepared on plates or in liquid generally found the same ∼46 abundant mRNA species, with >250 mRNAs detected at much lower abundances. Knowledge of the amount of phosphate in a single B. subtilis spore allowed calculation of the amount of mRNA in an individual spore as ∼106 nucleotides (nt). Given the levels of abundant spore mRNAs compared to those of other mRNAs, it was calculated that the great majority of low-abundance mRNAs are present in only small fractions of spores in populations. Almost all of the most abundant spore mRNAs are encoded by genes expressed late in sporulation in the developing spore under the control of the forespore-specific RNA polymerase sigma factor, σG, and most of the encoded proteins are in spores. Levels of the most abundant spore mRNAs were also relatively stable for a week at 4°C after spore harvest. RNA-seq analysis of mRNAs in highly purified and less-well-purified spores made in liquid, as well as from spores that were chemically decoated to remove possible contaminating mRNA, indicated that low-abundance mRNAs in spores were not contaminants in purified spore preparations, and several sources of low-abundance mRNAs in spores are suggested. The function of at least the great majority of spore mRNAs seems most likely to be the generation of ribonucleotides for new RNA synthesis by their degradation early in spore revival.IMPORTANCE Previous work indicates that dormant Bacillus subtilis spores have many hundreds of mRNAs, some of which are suggested to play roles in spores' "return to life" or revival. The present work finds only ∼46 mRNAs at ≥1 molecule spore, with others in only fractions of spores in populations, often very small fractions. Less-abundant spore mRNAs are not contaminants in spore preparations, but how spores accumulate them is not clear. Almost all abundant spore mRNAs are synthesized in the developing spore late in its development, most encode proteins in spores, and abundant mRNAs in spores are relatively stable at 4°C. These findings will have a major impact on thinking about the roles that spore mRNAs may play in spore revival.
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Dadd AH, Rumbelow JE. Germination of spores ofBacillus subtilisvar.nigerfollowing exposure to gaseous ethylene oxide. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1986.tb05088.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Bruno JG, Mayo MW. A color image analysis method for assessment of germination based on differential fluorescence staining of bacterial spores and vegetative cells using acridine orange. Biotech Histochem 1995; 70:175-84. [PMID: 8580199 DOI: 10.3109/10520299509107309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Color fluorescence image analysis of acridine orange (AO) stained germinating Bacillus subtilis var. niger bacteria revealed a cell population initially dominated by small green spores followed by the emergence of at least three additional discernible subpopulations in response to stimulation with D-glucose. These subpopulations were small, round or oblong red cells; intermediate to large metachromatic cells; and large red rods. Large green rods were rarely observed. An increase in red emissions (i.e., putative RNA synthesis) was sometimes seen as early as 90 min after exposure to D-glucose and uptake of AO at room temperature. This may represent either metabolic recovery from quiescence or RNA synthesis associated with germination. In the absence of D-glucose, or using autoclaved bacteria in the presence of glucose, no relative increase in the red signal was observed despite hours of observation. Digital image analysis was used for relative measurement of red, green and blue signals and to correlate the size of various subpopulations with their fluorescence color emissions over time. Image analysis demonstrated a trend toward increasing size and red emission in the presence of glucose. The average red emission was found to be a good discriminator of the various subpopulations, while the average green emission was approximately equal among the subpopulations making it a poor discriminator. These data suggest that AO staining might be used for rapid computer-assisted discrimination of spores vs. vegetative cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- J G Bruno
- U.S. Air Force, Armstrong Laboratory, Edgewood Research, Development and Engineering Center, SCBRD-RTE, Maryland 21010-5423, USA
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Johnstone K. The trigger mechanism of spore germination: current concepts. SOCIETY FOR APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM SERIES 1994; 23:17S-24S. [PMID: 8047907 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1994.tb04354.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- K Johnstone
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
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Sano K, Otani M, Uehara R, Kimura M, Umezawa C. Primary role of NADH formed by glucose dehydrogenase in ATP provision at the early stage of spore germination in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551. Microbiol Immunol 1988; 32:877-85. [PMID: 2463458 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1988.tb01449.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic events involved in energy metabolism were studied in order to evaluate the ATP-forming ability of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores at the very early stage of germination. When heat-activated spores were germinated on glucose as a sole substrate, its oxidation into gluconate (catalyzed by glucose dehydrogenase, EC 1.1.1.47), the accompanying NADH formation, oxygen uptake, and RNA synthesis were initiated immediately after germination, even when anaerobic breakdown of 3-phosphoglycerate (an ATP source for spores) and the subsequent glucose metabolism via the phosphorylating pathway were impaired by potassium fluoride (KF). In contrast, fructose metabolism and the accompanying metabolic events did not begin until a few minutes after triggering of germination, and those events were entirely abolished by KF, indicating that fructose metabolism is initiated exclusively via its phosphorylation by the ATP derived from endogenous 3-phosphoglycerate. Thus those results provided further evidence for our previous proposal (Otani et al (1987) Microbiol. Immunol. 31: 967-974; Sano et al (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 151: 48-52) that the first molecules of ATP in germinating spores can be efficiently generated via aerobic oxidation of NADH, which is formed by glucose dehydrogenase. Fluorescence monitoring of NADH in germinating spores also supported this conclusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Sano
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Kobe-Gakuin University, Hyogo
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ANDO Y, TSUZUKI T. Hydrogen peroxide release from bacterial spores during germination. Lett Appl Microbiol 1987. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-765x.1987.tb01585.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Otani M, Umezawa C, Sano K. A highly sensitive method for detection of 32P incorporation into acid-soluble compounds and its application to evaluate ATP-forming ability of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores at the very early stage of germination. Microbiol Immunol 1987; 31:967-74. [PMID: 3123896 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1987.tb01329.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
A method for specific removal of [32P]orthophosphate (Pi) as phosphomolybdate-triethylamine complex was slightly modified by repeating the Pi precipitation procedures in the presence of unlabeled Pi, which resulted in a complete removal of 32Pi (greater than 99.98%). Using this modified method, we determined 32P incorporation into acid-soluble compounds in order to evaluate the ATP-forming ability of Bacillus megaterium spores at the very early stage of germination. Addition of fructose as a substrate started the 32P incorporation later than a few min after triggering germination. This delay of a few min was well coincident with the onset of 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA) breakdown, indicating that fructose metabolism and the accompanying aerobic ATP formation were initiated only after fructose phosphorylation by the ATP derived from anaerobic breakdown of endogenous 3PGA. In contrast, addition of glucose started incorporation of 32P into acid-soluble compounds immediately after germination. In the latter case, NADH generated by glucose oxidation to gluconate (catalyzed by glucose dehydrogenase) might serve as an initial ATP source without depending on 3PGA breakdown and glucose metabolism via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Otani
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Kobe-Gakuin University, Hyogo
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Otani M, Ihara N, Umezawa C, Sano K. Predominance of gluconate formation from glucose during germination of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores. J Bacteriol 1986; 167:148-52. [PMID: 3013833 PMCID: PMC212853 DOI: 10.1128/jb.167.1.148-152.1986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic pathways of glucose during germination of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores were studied by using specifically labeled glucose and gluconate. The Embden-Meyerhof pathway, the pentose cycle, and the direct oxidation route of glucose to gluconate (the gluconate pathway) were all operative at this stage; among those, gluconate accumulation was most predominant, especially in the early stage. Potassium fluoride, an enolase inhibitor, abolished the catabolism by the Embden-Meyerhof pathway totally without affecting gluconate accumulation. Under these conditions glucose was exclusively oxidized to gluconate. Gluconate thus accumulated could be metabolized further via phosphorylation by gluconate kinase. Remarkable gluconate accumulation was also demonstrated in several other spores requiring alanine as an effective germinant. NADH formed by the direct glucose oxidation may serve as a initial ATP source to phosphorylate glucose in germinating spores.
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Nakatani Y, Tanida I, Koshikawa T, Imagawa M, Nishihara T, Kondo M. Collapse of cortex expansion during germination of Bacillus megaterium spores. Microbiol Immunol 1985; 29:689-99. [PMID: 3934504 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1985.tb00873.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
When spores of Bacillus megaterium ATCC 12872 were incubated with CdCl2, they germinated without decomposition of the cortex. Moreover, the volume ratio of cortex to protoplast-plus-cortex, C/(P+C), of the CdCl2-germinated spores was reduced. Incubation of isolated cortex with the divalent compounds Cd2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ reduced the gel volume to about 1/5 but incubation with a nonionic compounds, glucose, did not. The spores with reduced C/(P+C) were observed in the early period of glucose-induced germination. The time required for a 50% change in cortex morphology to occur was 2.5 min, which corresponds well with the time for 50% loss of heat resistance. This time was shorter than that necessary for release of peptidoglycan fragments and hydrolysis of cortex glycan chains. These data indicate that cortex hydrolysis is not related to the initiation of germination. 50% of the dipicolinic acid, calcium and magnesium were released at 3.4, 4.0, and 2.4 min, respectively. These results suggest that collapse of cortex expansion by the interaction of cortex with dipicolinic acid and cations released from the core, or exogenous ionic germinants is an important step in the initiation of germination.
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Ando Y, Tsuzuki T. Energy-dependent activation of spore-lytic enzyme precursor by germinated spores of Clostridium perfringens. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1984; 123:463-7. [PMID: 6091628 DOI: 10.1016/0006-291x(84)90253-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
A precursor of the spore-lytic enzyme of Clostridium perfringens was extracted with alkali from dormant spores of the organism. The enzyme precursor was activated by incubating it with germinated spores which had been treated with alkali. The activation was greatly enhanced by the addition of 3-phosphoglycerate, suggesting that the conversion of precursor to active enzyme depends on endogenous energy-producing metabolism during germination.
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Johnstone K, Ellar DJ. The role of cortex hydrolysis in the triggering of germination of Bacillus megaterium KM endospores. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 1982. [DOI: 10.1016/0304-4165(82)90323-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Abstract
Membranes from dormant and heat-activated spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 were isolated and purified by gentle lysis procedures followed by differential and sucrose density gradient centrifugations. The purified membranes were enriched for inner membranes and were characterized by their density and content of proteins, phospholipids, enzymes, cytochromes, and carotenoids. These purified spore membranes could be used to investigate their role in the triggering of germination.
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Abstract
Initiation of germination of heat-activated Streptomyces viridochromogenes spore occurs in media containing only calcium ions and organic buffer. The calcium-induced initiation of germination was accompanied by a decrease in absorbance of the spore suspension, an increased rate of endogenous metabolism, the loss of spore carbon, and the loss of heat resistance. Calcium amounts to 0.28% of the dry weight of freshly harvested spores. The amount of calcium remained the same after incubation of spores in water after heat activation. The spore content of calcium doubled after incubation in 0.5 mM CaCl2 for 5 min at 4 degrees C and during calcium-induced germination. Nearly all of the calcim appears to be bound to sites external to the spore membrane, since the chelating agents (ethylenedinitrilo) tetraacetic acid and arsenazo III removed virtually all of the calcium ions. The calcium ions must be present during the entire initiation of germination period. Germination ceases after an (ethylenedinitrilo) tetraacetic acid wash and begins again immediately after addition of calcium ions.
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Rossignol DP, Vary JC. L-Proline site for triggering Bacillus megaterium spore germination. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1979; 89:547-51. [PMID: 114177 DOI: 10.1016/0006-291x(79)90664-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Rossignol DP, Vary JC. Biochemistry of L-proline-triggered germination of Bacillus megaterium spores. J Bacteriol 1979; 138:431-41. [PMID: 35526 PMCID: PMC218195 DOI: 10.1128/jb.138.2.431-441.1979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanism by which L-proline triggers germination in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores was investigated. First, brief exposure of spores to L-proline, followed by dilution, was sufficient to trigger germination. Once germination was triggered, the spores continued initiation of germination and did not require high concentrations of L-proline. Triggering of germination was pH and temperature dependent. Second, enzymes for L-proline catabolism were absent in spores, and several non-metabolizable analogs of L-proline were effective trigger compounds. Third, triggering of germination occurred in the presence of inhibitors of proton motive force production, oxygen uptake, and metabolism. Fourth, uptake of L-proline occurred after the triggering of germination. These results argue that neither uptake nor metabolism of L-proline was necessary to trigger germination. Instead, L-proline probably causes a biophysical alteration in the spores that triggers the biochemical changes in germination.
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Abstract
Triggering of germination in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores with D-glucose was studied. First, the interaction of glucose with spores for less than 1 min resulted in triggering almost 90% of the spores after the glucose was removed by dilution. Therefore only a brief time is needed for glucose to trigger germination, and then the continuous presence of glucose is not necessary. Detectable uptake of glucose began 2 to 3 min after absorbance loss started, and a non-metabolizable glucose analog, methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, triggered germination in the absence of detectable uptake. Several inhibitors that reduced or eliminated glucose uptake did not block triggering of germination. Therefore, glucose uptake may be a relatively late event and not a prerequisite for triggering of germination.
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