Release of Small Molecules During Germination of Spores of Bacillus Species

Department of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-3305

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: setlow{at}nso2.uchc.edu.

	Abstract

Free amino acids, dipicolinic acid and unidentified small molecules were released early in Bacillus spore germination before hydrolysis of the peptidoglycan cortex, but adenine nucleotides and 3-phosphoglycerate were not. These results indicate that early in germination there is a major selective change in the permeability of the spore's inner membrane.