Germination of Bacillus cereus spores induced by purine ribosides and their analogs: effects of modification of base and sugar moieties of purine nucleosides on germination-inducing activity

Abstract

Purine riboside and some of its analogs were tested for their ability to induce germination of Bacillus cereus T spores. Hypoxanthine and adenine showed no germination-inducing activity either in the present or absence of D-ribose or its phosphorylated derivatives. Purine riboside and 18 analogs with modified purine base were all able to induce germination of the spores to various extents. In contrast to this, the requirement for the sugar moiety in the purine riboside appeared to be more stringent. Only those nucleosides that contained either D-ribose or deoxy-D-ribose, and certain species of azole derivatives such as 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide covalently linked to the C(1') of the sugar actively induced germination.

Dissecting interactions between nucleosides and germination receptors in Bacillus cereus 569 spores

“…However, only changes in the purine ring are tolerated. These results are consistent with previous work that showed the importance of the sugar moiety in nucleoside recognition (Preston & Douthit, 1988;Senesi et al, 1991;Shibata et al, 1986;Yousten, 1975).…”

“…The nucleoside/alanine germination pathway can be activated by a larger variety of nucleoside analogues in the presence of L-alanine (Abel-Santos & Dodatko, 2007). These results are consistent with previous spore germination experiments in B. cereus NCIB 8122 and T strains (Preston & Douthit, 1988;Senesi et al, 1991;Shibata et al, 1986;Yousten, 1975). B. anthracis, a species closely related to B. cereus, can also germinate using this pathway (Ireland & Hanna, 2002;Weiner et al, 2003).…”

“…B. anthracis, a species closely related to B. cereus, can also germinate using this pathway (Ireland & Hanna, 2002;Weiner et al, 2003). Analysis of structurally diverse nucleosides as co-germinants with L-alanine suggested that, in the nucleoside/alanine pathway, germination-inducing activity is governed by the structural properties of the sugar rather than the base moieties of the nucleosides (Senesi et al, 1991;Shibata et al, 1986). Thus, it seems that the germination receptor(s) that activate the nucleoside/alanine germination pathway do not recognize the purine ring of the nucleoside to trigger germination.…”

The Ger Receptor Family from Sporulating Bacteria

“…These results are consistent with previous spore germination experiments in B. cereus NCIB 8122 and T strains (Preston and Douthit, 1988;Senesi et al, 1991;Shibata et al, 1986;Yousten, 1975).…”

“…Analysis of structurally diverse nucleosides used as cogerminants with L-alanine suggested that, in the nucleoside/alanine pathway, germination-inducing activity is governed by the structural properties of the sugar rather than the base moieties of the nucleoside (Shibata et al, 1986). These results are consistent with previous spore germination experiments in B. cereus NCIB 8122 and T strains (Preston and Douthit, 1988;Senesi et al, 1991;Shibata et al, 1986;Yousten, 1975).…”