Electron microscopy of spores of Bacillus megaterium with special reference to the effects of fixation and thin sectioning.

Resting spores of Bacillus megaterium appear uniformly opaque and undifferentiated under the electron microscope. Germinated spores and spores which have lost their dipicolinic acid underwent characteristic changes in structure. Spores fixed with KMnO(4) lose their dipicolinic acid. Spores fixed with OsO(4) under certain conditions retain their dipicolinic acid. When conventional sectioning procedures are used with either method of fixation, abnormal spore structure is produced as a result of the solution of cellular constitutents. Dry sections of unfixed spores embedded in methacrylate reveal the spore structure in a more normal state. Indirect evidence has been obtained for the existence of a penetration barrier at or near the outer edge of the cortex.