Metabolic Requirements for Microcycle Sporogenesis of Bacillus megaterium

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Abstract
Spores of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 germinated, elongated, and resporulated (microcycle sporogenesis) in simple chemically defined media which permitted no cell division. The second-stage spores thus produced were heat-stable and required heat activation for germination. The original amount of spore deoxyribonucleic acid tripled before completion of the cycle. Acetate and a small amount of a tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate were the minimal organic metabolic requirements for microcycle sporogenesis. During this cycle, germinated cells oxidized acetate only after a delay, whether or not glucose was initially present. Spores that were germinated in the absence of a carbon source first oxidized an endogenous substrate, and then developed the ability to oxidize acetate.