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The wrong decision can be catastrophic: a vegetative cell will die if the conditions are too harsh, while bacteria forming spores in an environment which is conducive to vegetative growth will be out competed. [3] In short, initiation of sporulation is a very tightly regulated network with numerous checkpoints for efficient control. [citation ...
Bacteria produce a single endospore internally. The spore is sometimes surrounded by a thin covering known as the exosporium, which overlies the spore coat. The spore coat, which acts like a sieve that excludes large toxic molecules like lysozyme, is resistant to many toxic molecules and may also contain enzymes that are involved in germination.
The term sporogenesis can also refer to endospore formation in bacteria, which allows the cells to survive unfavorable conditions. Endospores are not reproductive structures and their formation does not require cell fusion or division. Instead, they form through the production of an encapsulating spore coat within the spore-forming cell.
The term spore derives from the ancient Greek word σπορά spora, meaning "seed, sowing", related to σπόρος sporos, "sowing", and σπείρειν speirein, "to sow". In common parlance, the difference between a "spore" and a " gamete " is that a spore will germinate and develop into a sporeling , while a gamete needs to combine with ...
As a model organism, B. subtilis is commonly used in laboratory studies directed at discovering the fundamental properties and characteristics of Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria. [29] In particular, the basic principles and mechanisms underlying formation of the durable endospore have been deduced from studies of spore formation in B ...
Most non-vascular plants, as well as many lycophytes and most ferns, are homosporous (only one kind of spore is produced). Some lycophytes, such as the Selaginellaceae and Isoetaceae , [ 7 ] : 7 the extinct Lepidodendrales , [ 8 ] and ferns, such as the Marsileaceae and Salviniaceae are heterosporous (two kinds of spores are produced).
It has been proposed that endospore formation has allowed for the survival of some bacteria for hundreds of millions of years (e.g. in salt crystals) [14] [15] although these publications have been questioned. [16] [17] Endospore formation is limited to several genera of gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus and Clostridium. It differs from ...
Some bacteria also produce endospores with an exosporium, of which the most commonly studied are Bacillus species, particularly Bacillus cereus and the anthrax-causing bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The exosporium is the portion of the spore that interacts with the environment or host organism, and may contain spore antigens. [1]