Studies on the Bacterial Spore Coat: IX. The Role of Surface Charge in Germination of Bacillus megaterium Spores

The surface charge of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores was estimated to be negative, ‐0.2 and ‐0.4 μeq/mg by colloidal titration using glycol chitosan (GCh) and methylglycol chitosan (MGCh), respectively, as positive colloids. MGCh, which reacts with all of the negatively charged groups including carboxylate, inhibited the second stage of the germination to result in semirefractile spores, but GCh, which reacts only with strong acidic groups such as phosphate, did not. The spores produced in a medium with limited phosphate had coats with low phosphate content and carried less negative charge, and they were induced to germinate with 0.4 mm KNO3, which is one‐tenth of the minimum concentration required for the germination of the control spores. A similar increase in germinability was observed in spores incubated with calcium acetate.