ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDIES ON ULTRATHIN SECTIONS OF SPORES OF THE CLOSTRIDIUM GROUP, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE SPORULATION AND GERMINATION PROCESS

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Abstract
Two clostridia, Clostridium butyricum and C. botulinum type E, were examined. At the initial stage of sporulation, one nuclear site enlarged, became compact in contents, and formed the spore primordium together with the surrounding cytoplasm. At the outside of the spore primordium, the dense outer spore coat was produced fragmentarily at first, gradually proceeding to envelop the whole spore. In the first step of the spore germination, the nuclear element became distinct and moved to the interior of the spore, and the inner spore coat and cortex swelled, resulting in final disappearance. After this, the nuclear apparatus appeared in the centrally located nuclear site. The cell wall of newly germinated cells is thought to originate from the membrane which envelops the spore core.
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