Bacteria are commonly associated with pathogenicity. There are multiple factors that can contribute to bacteria being pathogenic. One factor is sporulation. Sporulation is a specialized function that select bacteria undergo when they are exposed to harsh environmental conditions (Fimlaid 2015). Clostridium difficile, Clostridium botulism and Bacillus anthracis are three examples of sporulating bacteria that cause serious human disease. In a 2011 study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there are 453,000 cases of Clostridium difficile, with 29,300 associated deaths (Roos 2015). The impact these bacteria have on the human population is not trivial.
Sporulation is a specialized function for survival in the face of …show more content…
The cells do not sporulate when they are actively growing, but only when they stop due to depletions of essential nutrients. When favorable conditions return, the cell resurrects. Therefore, the endospore can be thought of as the dormant stage of the bacterial life cycle. For example, if the bacterium encounters shortages of carbon or nitrogen, the cell will cease vegetative growth and switch to sporulation (Piggot 2004). A cell can remain dormant for years but can also revert to the vegetative form quickly. The endospore is very efficient at preserving the RNA and DNA. The endospores revert back into the vegetative stage through three processes: activation, germination, and outgrowth. These are the processes that represent the life cycle of a typical spore forming bacteria. Activation occurs when the cells are heated to a higher temperature but not so high that it kills the cells. Activated endospores are then conditioned to germinate when supplemented with necessary nutrients. Germination is a quick process and then the outgrowth of the endospore involves water uptake to rehydrate the cell, and synthesis of RNA, DNA, and proteins. The cell emerges from the broken endospore and begins vegetative growth. The cell will remain in this stage until it is triggered by unfavorable environmental conditions to repeat the sporulation process (Michael
Sporulation is a specialized function for survival in the face of …show more content…
The cells do not sporulate when they are actively growing, but only when they stop due to depletions of essential nutrients. When favorable conditions return, the cell resurrects. Therefore, the endospore can be thought of as the dormant stage of the bacterial life cycle. For example, if the bacterium encounters shortages of carbon or nitrogen, the cell will cease vegetative growth and switch to sporulation (Piggot 2004). A cell can remain dormant for years but can also revert to the vegetative form quickly. The endospore is very efficient at preserving the RNA and DNA. The endospores revert back into the vegetative stage through three processes: activation, germination, and outgrowth. These are the processes that represent the life cycle of a typical spore forming bacteria. Activation occurs when the cells are heated to a higher temperature but not so high that it kills the cells. Activated endospores are then conditioned to germinate when supplemented with necessary nutrients. Germination is a quick process and then the outgrowth of the endospore involves water uptake to rehydrate the cell, and synthesis of RNA, DNA, and proteins. The cell emerges from the broken endospore and begins vegetative growth. The cell will remain in this stage until it is triggered by unfavorable environmental conditions to repeat the sporulation process (Michael