endospores

(noun)

An endospore is a dormant, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by certain bacteria from the Firmicute phylum.

Related Terms

  • horizontal gene transfer

Examples of endospores in the following topics:

  • Endospores

    • Endospores can survive without nutrients.
    • Bacteria produce a single endospore internally.
    • There are variations in endospore morphology .
    • Sometimes the endospore can be so large that the cell can be distended around the endospore.
    • Variations in endospore morphology: (1, 4) central endospore; (2, 3, 5) terminal endospore; (6) lateral endospore.
  • Firmicutes

    • Endospores enable bacteria to lie dormant for extended periods, even centuries.
    • Bacteria produce a single endospore internally.
    • Terminal endospores are seen at the poles of cells, whereas central endospores are more or less in the middle.
    • Lateral endospores are seen occasionally.
    • Variations in endospore morphology: (1, 4) central endospore; (2, 3, 5) terminal endospore; (6) lateral endospore.
  • Relative Resistance of Microbes

    • Endospores are considered the most resistant structure of microbes .
    • However, alkylating agents (e.g. ethylene oxide), and 10% bleach are effective against endospores.
    • Endospores are able to survive boiling at 100°C for hours.
    • Prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation, such as x-rays and gamma rays, will also kill most endospores.
    • A stained preparation of Bacillus subtilis showing endospores as green and the vegetative cell as red.
  • Sporulation in Bacillus

    • It is known for its ability to form a small, tough, protective, and metabolically dormant endospore.
    • B. subtilis can divide symmetrically to make two daughter cells (binary fission), or asymmetrically, producing a single endospore that is resistant to environmental factors such as heat, desiccation, radiation, and chemical insult which can persist in the environment for long periods of time.
    • The endospore is formed at times of nutritional stress, allowing the organism to persist in the environment until conditions become favourable.
    • The process of endospore formation has profound morphological and physiological consequences: radical post-replicative remodeling of two progeny cells, accompanied eventually by cessation of metabolic activity in one daughter cell (the spore) and death by lysis of the other (the ‘mother cell').
  • Tetanus

    • The rough surface of rusty metal merely provides a prime habitat for a C. tetani endospore to reside, and the nail affords a means to puncture skin and deliver endospore into the wound.
    • An endospore is a non-metabolizing survival structure that begins to metabolize and cause infection once in an adequate environment.
    • Because C. tetani is an anaerobic bacterium, it and its endospores survive well in an environment that lacks oxygen.
    • Hence, stepping on a nail, rusty or not, may result in a tetanus infection, as the low-oxygen (anaerobic) environment is provided by the same object that causes a puncture wound, delivering endospores to a suitable environment for growth.
    • A person infected with C. tetani can be treated with antibiotics, which will kill the multiplying bacteria but will have no effect on the endospores or the toxin.
  • Anthrax

    • The bacterium normally rests in endospore form in the soil, and can survive for decades in this state.
    • It has been hypothesized that the vegetation may cause wounds within the gastrointestinal tract, permitting entry of the bacterial endospores into the tissues.
    • The endospores germinate at the site of entry into the tissues and then spread via the circulation to the lymphatics, where the bacteria multiply.
  • Koch and Pure Culture

    • He found that, while it could not survive outside a host for long, anthrax built persisting endospores that could last a long time.
    • These endospores, embedded in soil, were the cause of unexplained "spontaneous" outbreaks of anthrax.
  • Biological Control of Microbes

    • These are not capable of sterilizing, typically because they fail to kill endospores, some viruses, and organisms such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 3.
  • Bacteroides and Flavobacterium

    • This genus of bacteria is characterized by their sphingolipid based membranes and are typically non-endospore forming and anaerobic.
  • Non-Spore-Forming Firmicutes

    • Many Firmicutes produce endospores, which are resistant to desiccation and can survive extreme conditions.
    • A Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium which is rod-shaped, and has the ability to form a tough, protective endospore, allowing the organism to tolerate extreme environmental conditions.
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