Properties of Bacillus megaterium temperature-sensitive germination mutants.

Bacillus megaterium mutants JV-9 and JV-10 are temperature sensitive for initiation of spore germination. At 46 C, they did not lose heat resistance, dipicolinic acid, or absorbance, indicating that the temperature-sensitive blocks are very early in the sequence of initiation reactions. Strain JV-9 was temperature sensitive for initiation by glucose alone, and strain JV-10 was temperature sensitive for initiation by glucose, L-leucine, L-proline, KBr, or calcium dipicolinate. The kinetics of initiation were followed after two kinds of temperature change (shift-up and shift-down) experiments. Mutant spores incubated for different times at 46 C and then shifted down to 30 C showed no significant differences in the rates of absorbance decrease, i.e., no stimulation or inhibition. Conversely, when mutant spores were incubated for different times at 30 C, a fraction of the population initiated germination, and after shift-up to 46 C an additional fraction continued initiation while a third fraction stopped. This latter fraction did initiate germination when the temperature was lowered to 30 C. The kinetics of initiation after shift-up and shift-down in temperature suggest that the early events in initiation reagents, whereas the other four initiated sensitivity for all of the above initiation reagents, whereas the other four initiated very poorly. It was suggested that the lesion in strain JV-10 may result in the formation of one temperature-sensitive protein. Revertants of strain JV-9 could not be isolated.