In nature, there are bacteria that have the unique ability to form spores. How this process occurs, what disputes are, the reader learns by reading the article.
Disputes
These are organisms consisting of one cell, with the help of which there is reproduction and dispersal. What is a dispute? Translated - this is sowing, sowing, seed. Mushrooms, mosses, lichens, some plant species and bacteria breed by spores.
Disputes are different. So, in plants and fungi, they perform the function of reproduction, while in bacteria they do not. Spores in bacteria protect them from the effects of adverse conditions, but not all bacteria are endowed with such properties.
What is a dispute? This is a microorganism, ten times smaller than the cells of the bacterium itself, by which it is formed. Only a special antibiotic or open flame can destroy it.
The vitality of the argument can be envied. These microscopic organisms can persist for a long time, up to a thousand years. But, once in favorable conditions, they are transformed, grow and multiply rapidly.
Varieties of spore-forming bacteria
Spores can form only bacteria bacteria. Depending on the size of the dispute, these are:
- Bacilli - the so-called microorganisms whose spore sizes are less than the width of the stick itself. The shape of the bacteria during spore formation does not change.
- Clostridia - spores are larger than the diameter of the cell. Bacteria begin to swell and become spindle-shaped.
The process of spore formation among bacteria such as cocci and crimped is extremely rare, as an exception.
Bacilli
These are spore-forming bacteria in the form of rods, number in their kind about two hundred species. They differ from non-spore-forming microorganisms in larger sizes. Among the bacilli there are pathogenic, harmful to human health.
These include anthrax, the causative agent of which is anthracis - bacillus, which penetrates through skin lesions and has a toxic effect on tissues that subsequently collapse. The causative agent of anthrax is almost indestructible. It cannot be destroyed by heat, light and chemical attack. Vaccination only.
Clostridia
These bacteria belong to the spore-forming species, they are also called obligate. Clostridia are large in size and in the shape of a curved stick. They mainly live in living organisms, are mobile and motionless. The first have flagella.
Clostridia with pathogenic properties are endowed with a capsule superstructure. This means that the cell has no contact with the external environment, it is in the capsule.
Clostridia come in many forms, some of which are capable of producing toxic poisons, such as botulinum toxin, a potent organic poison. An example of pathogenic species of clostridia are the causative agents of botulism, gangrene, tetanus.
Spore formation in bacteria
This process in bacteria occurs when there is not enough food, air, the habitat is dried up, harmful products of metabolism are contained in large quantities, sharp temperature fluctuations occur. In short: spore formation is a mechanism that ensures the survival of bacteria in adverse conditions. The essence of the formation of spores is that the activity of microbes decreases and the intensity of metabolic processes decreases.
Spore formation is a complex process. The cytoplasm begins to lose moisture, it thickens and collects in the body of the bacterium. There, it is covered with a dense shell in several layers, impermeable to various solutions, and takes the form of a new formation of a round, ovoid or oval shape, which is called a spore. In the dense membrane of a mature spore, DNA synthesis is reduced to a minimum. The mother cell of the bacterium is destroyed, the spore loses the mother’s cover.
The shell accounts for fifty percent of the total weight of the spores. Spore formation is a lengthy process, which takes about twenty hours to complete. The appearance of the cell may remain the same or change. It depends on the size of the spore and where it is located. If in the center - then the cage becomes like a lemon, a barrel or a spindle.
Spore formation is a change in the shape of the cell, as the final stage of a complex process. So, for example, the formation of spores of tetanus bacillus occurs at the end of the cell, as a result of which it acquires a completely new shape and becomes like a drumstick.
Spore bacteria are more resistant to freezing, drying, prolonged or short-term boiling, exposure to chemicals. There are vegetative forms of bacterial formation and spore formation. Examples of the latter: causative agents of diseases such as anthrax, botulism, tetanus and some types of saprophytic inhabitants of the soil, which can be found in manure.
Germination
When the spore membrane enters a favorable environment for it, it begins to swell. This process occurs until the shell is completely destroyed. At the time when the tissue of the membrane is torn, through this large impulse the young cell enters the external environment.
In this way, spores germinate in aerobic bacteria. Anaerobic bacteria do not lose their outer cell membrane during spore formation. The spore is not in contact with the external environment, its contact occurs with the cell membrane. When favorable conditions arise, nutrients enter the cell through the sheath. The spore begins to sprout.
Bacteria and Products
Spore formation in bacteria is undesirable in the processing and storage of individual products. If this process occurs, it will be difficult to fight microorganisms. To destroy spores in canned food, for example, the product must be sterilized, which will greatly reduce its quality. In order to preserve milk for a long time, it is sterilized, and this leads to a loss of its original properties and vitamin A. Note: the heating temperature during sterilization is 120 degrees.
During pasteurization, in order to maximize the preservation of nutrients, milk is heated to only 80-90 degrees. This affects the shelf life: milk spoils quickly, since pasteurization does not kill spores, but rather, at room temperature they sprout and begin to multiply rapidly, which spoils the product.