Biochemical changes occurring during sporulation in Bacillus species

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Abstract
Some changes in the composition of a complex medium during growth and sporulation of B. cereus are described. A marked increase in Ca content of B. cereus and B. subtilis cells during sporulation closely follows dipicolinic acid synthesis by these cells. Dipicolinic acid chelates strongly with Ca and with Cu, Ni, Fe and Mn, but only weakly with Mg. Attempts to implicate [alpha] [epsilon]-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) as the direct precursor of dipicolinic acid are described. In non-sporulating vegetative cells of B. cereus, DAP and hexosamine are associated with the insoluble cell debris, whereas in sporulating cells and in spores, these compounds appear in the soluble fraction. This apparent change in DAP distribution during sporulation is associated with the activity of an enzyme which liberates soluble material containing DAP and hexosamine from the insoluble fraction of the vegetative cell. The adenosine deaminase and ribosidase activity of cell homo-genates increases during sporulation.