POPULATION HETEROGENEITY IN THE RESISTANCE OF AEROBIC SPORES TO ETHYLENE OXIDE

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Abstract
Mixed spore populations were obtained in strains of Bacillus polymyxa and B. cereus var. terminalalis. Populations were hetero geneous in ethylene oxide resistance and surface charge density, as measured by microelectrophoresis. In both cases, the major population component had the lower surface density charge and was sensitive to ethylene oxide. Extraction of lipid of such heterogeneous populations resulted in a population uniformly sensitive to ethylene oxide and electrophoretically homogeneous. An emulsion of the extracted lipid had a protective effect for spores treated with ethylene oxide. Correlation between resistance to ethylene oxide and electric charge density was established definitely for the major or lower velocity component, which upon actual isolation was sensitive to ethylene oxide.