Studies on factors affecting the rapid germination of spores of Clostridium botulinum

Closed Genome Sequence of Clostridium botulinum Strain CFSAN064329 (62A)

Clostridium botulinum is a strictly anaerobic, Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that produces botulinum neurotoxin, a potent and deadly proteinaceous exotoxin. Clostridium botulinum strain CFSAN064329 (62A) produces an A1 serotype/subtype botulinum neurotoxin and is frequently utilized in food challenge and detection studies.

Clostridium botulinum is a strictly anaerobic, Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that produces botulinum neurotoxin, a potent and deadly proteinaceous exotoxin. Clostridium botulinum strain CFSAN064329 (62A) produces an A1 serotype/subtype botulinum neurotoxin and is frequently utilized in food challenge and detection studies. We report here the closed genome sequence of Clostridium botulinum strain CFSAN064329 (62A).

Thermal Inactivation Kinetics of Sporolactobacillus nakayamae Spores, a Spoilage Bacterium Isolated from a Model Mashed Potato-Scallion Mixture

Sporolactobacillus species have been occasionally isolated from spoiled foods and environmental sources. Thus, food processors should be aware of their potential presence and characteristics. In this study, the heat resistance and influence of the growth and recovery media on apparent heat resistance of Sporolactobacillus nakayamae spores were studied and described mathematically. For each medium, survivor curves and thermal death curves were generated for different treatment times (0 to 25 min) at different temperatures (70, 75, and 80°C) and Weibull and first-order models were compared. Thermal inactivation data for S. nakayamae spores varied widely depending on the media formulations used, with glucose yeast peptone consistently yielding the highest D-values for the three temperatures tested. For this same medium, the D-values ranged from 25.24 ± 1.57 to 3.45 ± 0.27 min for the first-order model and from 24.18 ± 0.62 to 3.50 ± 0.24 min for the Weibull model at 70 and 80°C, respectively. The z-values determined for S. nakayamae spores were 11.91 ± 0.29°C for the Weibull model and 11.58 ± 0.43°C for the first-order model. The calculated activation energy was 200.5 ± 7.3 kJ/mol for the first-order model and 192.8 ± 22.1 kJ/mol for the Weibull model. The Weibull model consistently produced the best fit for all the survival curves. This study provides novel and precise information on thermal inactivation kinetics of S. nakayamae spores that will enable reliable thermal process calculations for eliminating this spoilage bacterium.

Conditions Affecting Germination of Clostridium botulinum 62A Spores in a Chemically Defined Medium

Spores of Clostridium botulinum type 62A were germinated in a chemically defined medium (8 mm l-cysteine, 11.9 mm sodium bicarbonate, 4.4 mm sodium thioglycolate; buffered with 100 mm TES, pH 7.0). The rate and extent of germination were increased when an aqueous spore suspension was heated sublethally (80 C, 60 min) before addition to the germination medium. Neither sublethal nor lethal doses of gamma radiation had any marked effect on subsequent germination. Maximum germination (>90% in 2 hr) in the defined medium occurred in the pH range of 6.5 to 7.5, at 30 to 37 C, with an l-cysteine level of 8 mm. Increasing l-cysteine to 32 mm increased the rate (over that with 8 mm l-cysteine) but not the extent of germination. The rate and extent of germination increased with NaHCO(3) addition to 8.3 mm, but increasing levels to 11.9 mm had no further effect. For maximum germination, 2.2 mm sodium thioglycolate was required and higher levels (to 8.8 mm) had no further enhancing or inhibitory effect. Under optimal conditions for germination, 97% of the spores had become heat sensitive; 98% had become sensitive to radiation; 88 and 91% had become phase dark and stainable, respectively, and the spore suspension had lost 46% of its initial optical density by 2 hr. Loss of heat resistance preceded loss of radiation resistance, acquisition of stainability, and phase darkening by about 12 min.

Bacterial spores and chemical sporicidal agents

Bacterial spores are among the most resistant of all living cells to biocides, although the response depends on the stage of sporulation. The development of resistance to some agents such as chlorhexidine occurs much earlier in sporulation than does resistance to glutaraldehyde, which is a very late event. During germination or outgrowth or both, resistance is lost and the cells become as susceptible to biocides as nonsporulating bacteria. Mechanisms of spore resistance to, and the action of, biocides are discussed, and possible means of enhancing antispore activity are considered. The clinical and other uses of sporicidal and sporostatic chemical agents are described.

Germination of spores from Clostridium botulinum B-aphis and Ba410

The germination of spores from Clostridium botulinum B-aphis and Ba410 was examined. In a complex medium, heat activation of spores from both strains doubled the germination rates and was required for germination in the presence of 2% NaCl. In a defined medium (CTB [D. B. Rowley and F. Feeherry, J. Bacteriol. 104:1151-1157, 1970]), the parent strain B-aphis germinated at a rate of 0.77% min-1 in the absence of NaCl and was not affected by 2% NaCl. A salt-tolerant derivative, strain Ba410, germinated at rates of 0.16% min-1 in CTB and 0.04% min-1 in CTB containing 2% NaCl. L-Alanine-triggered spores germinated faster than did L-cysteine-triggered spores from both strains. When both amino acids were present, B-aphis germinated rapidly in the absence of NaCl and had biphasic kinetics in the presence of NaCl. Strain Ba410 had biphasic kinetics in the absence of NaCl and germinated slowly with single-phase kinetics in the presence of NaCl. L-Alanine- and L-cysteine-triggered germinations were each inhibited by both D-alanine and D-cysteine, indicating a common germinant-binding site for both alanine and cysteine. Attempts to select for variants with amino acid-specific germinant-binding sites were unsuccessful. Differences in the germination kinetics of both strains could not be explained by ultrastructural differences. Transmission electron micrographs revealed striking similarities between the strains.

Effect of plating medium on heat activation requirement of Clostridium botulinum spores

Clostridium botulinum 62A and ATCC 25763 spores required heat activation for maximum colony formation when plated on reinforced clostridial agar (BBL Microbiology Systems) but not when plated on botulinum assay medium. Spores from strains B-aphis and 53B did not exhibit heat activation when plated on either medium.

Recovery of spores of Clostridium botulinum in yeast extract agar and pork infusion agar after heat treatment

Yeast extract agar, pork infusion agar, and modifications of these media were used to recover heated Clostridium botulinum spores. The D- and z-values were determined. Two type A strains and one type B strain of C. botulinum were studied. In all cases the D-values were largest when the spores were recovered in yeast extract agar, compared to the D-values for spores recovered in pork infusion agar. The z-values for strains 62A and A16037 were largest when the spores were recovered in pork infusion agar. The addition of sodium bicarbonate and sodium thioglycolate to pork infusion agar resulted in D-values for C. botulinum 62A spores similar to those for the same spores recovered in yeast extract agar. The results suggest that sodium bicarbonate and sodium thioglycolate should be added to recovery media for heated C. botulinum spores to obtain maximum plate counts.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase in spores of Bacillus megaterium and its possible involvement in spore germination

Spores of Bacillus megaterium were examined for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD). Although dormant spores showed no GAD activity, spores given sonic treatment and heat-activated spores had high activities when assayed for this enzyme. Several parameters of GAD in heat-activated spores were examined. The effects of KCN, NaN(3), 2,4-dinitrophenol, and KF on GAD activity were examined. Only KCN was an effective inhibitor of GAD activity in heated spores and was also shown to be the only effective inhibitor of GAD activity in vegetative bacteria. Similar patterns of inhibition were obtained with GAD activity and with spore germination, KCN being the only effective inhibitor of both, although at different concentrations. Spore GAD activity in heat-activated spores showed a loss with storage at 4 C; on the other hand, storage at 25 C was not accompanied by a loss, but, to the contrary, showed an increase in GAD activity of about 30%. A comparison of GAD activity at different times during germination, growth, and sporulation showed it to be highest in freshly germinated spores. Although vegetative cells contained GAD activity, the level in log-phase cells was approximately one-half the level obtained with freshly germinated spores. Heat-activated mutant spores with a requirement of gamma-aminobutyric acid for germination gave no GAD activity. GAD activity appeared in mutant spores after germination and increased to levels comparable to parent spores after 9 min of germination.

Enrichment, isolation, and cultural characteristics of marine strains of Clostridium botulinum type C

Terrestrial strains of Clostridium botulinum type C, designated 468 and 571, were used to screen various media for growth and sporulation at 30 C. Of the various formulations tested, only egg meat medium fortified with 1% additions of yeast extract, ammonium sulfate, and glucose (FEM medium) gave good growth and satisfactory sporulation. FEM medium was used to recover four marine type C isolates from inshore sediments collected along the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific coasts of the United States. The isolation techniques involved repeated transfer of cultures showing type C toxin in FEM medium and purification by a deep tube method. The medium used for purification was beef infusion-agar supplemented with 0.14% sodium bicarbonate and 0.1% l-cysteine hydrochloride. l-Cysteine was adopted in preference to sodium thioglycolate, because some lots of the latter were definitely inhibitory for growth. The addition of bicarbonate markedly increased viable spore counts of both the marine and terrestrial strains. Various cultural and biochemical characteristics of the marine and the terrestrial strains were compared. With the exception of some variations in their fermentation patterns, both groups showed similar characteristics. Of 23 fermentable compounds tested, the terrestrial strains attacked only glucose and mannose. The marine strains fermented glucose, mannose, galactose, and ribose actively; dextrin, inositol, maltose, and melibiose were weakly fermented.

Rapid Germination of Clostridium botulinum Type E Spores

Spores of Clostridium botulinum type E germinated rapidly under suitably defined conditions of pH, temperature, and nutrient concentration. The influence of these factors on the rate of germination is presented graphically on the basis of germination proceeding according to a first-order kinetic equation. The effect of agents associated with food preservation on the germination rate demonstrates the value of a rapid germination technique for screening inhibitors of spore germination and outgrowth. The kinetic data are discussed on the basis of the current knowledge of spore activation.

SOME OBSERVATIONS OF THE EFFECT OF FILTRATES OF SEVERAL REPRESENTATIVE CONCOMITANT BACTERIA ON CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM TYPE A

Filtrates of growing cultures of Bacillus sphacricus, Clostridium sporogenes, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus faecalis inhibited germination of spores of Clostridium botulinum type A. Of the four filtrates only that of E. coli was inactive at low (1:8) concentrations, and all were inhibitory at high (1:2) levels. Only filtrates of B. sphaericus and C. sporogenes affected lysis (increased) of washed cells of C. botulinum, and only S. faecalis filtrate altered botulinal toxigenicity in a complete medium. S. faecalis filtrate enhanced the final toxicity when present in high concentrations in the presence of phosphate buffer.