Revisiting bacterial spore germination in the presence of peptidoglycan fragments

• Published in: Journal of bacteriology Vol. 207; no. 7; p. e0014625
• Main Authors: Heydenreich, Rosa, Nacita, Juliana, Lin, Chia-Wei, O’Dea, Finn, Mesnage, Stéphane, Christie, Graham, Mathys, Alexander
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 24.07.2025
• Subjects: Amino acids; Bacillus cereus - growth & development; Bacillus cereus - metabolism; Bacillus cereus - physiology; Bacillus megaterium - growth & development; Bacillus megaterium - metabolism; Bacillus megaterium - physiology; Bacillus subtilis - growth & development; Bacillus subtilis - metabolism; Bacillus subtilis - physiology; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Bacteriology; Flow cytometry; Fragments; Germination; Kinases; Mixtures; Nutrients; Peptidoglycan - metabolism; Peptidoglycans; Protein-serine/threonine kinase; Research Article; Spore germination; Spores; Spores, Bacterial - drug effects; Spores, Bacterial - growth & development; Spores, Bacterial - metabolism; Spores, Bacterial - physiology; germination; peptidoglycan; muropeptides; spores; Bacillus

Stimuli and mechanisms that underpin bacterial spore germination are fairly well characterized. The physiological route relies upon the interaction of various small nutrient molecules with receptor proteins buried within spores. An alternative route to germination, whereby fragments of bacterial cel...