Relation of Dipicolinic Acid to Heat Resistance of Bacterial Spores

Abstract

S U M M A R YSpores of five strains of Clostridium botulinum differing widely in their heat resistance contained 7.4 to 13-4 % dipicolinic acid. There appeared to be no correlation between DPA content and heat resistance of the various strains. The rate of loss of DPA during heating at 75 and IOOO was consistently slower than the rate of loss of spore viability, though, in general, heat-resistant strains lost DPA less quickly than did heat-sensitive strains.At the instant of thermal death, spores still retained 28 to 99-6 % of their original DPA, though this DPA could be released on continued heating.

Release of dipicolinic acid and calcium and activation of Bacillus stearothermophilus spores as a function of time, temperature and pH

“…Murrell (1969) concluded that the spore DPA content was not the determining factor in the degree of heat resistance. Our proposal (Brown & Melling, 1967) that the nature of the DPA bonds rather than the amount of DPA was the determining factor for dormancy and resistance has received further support by Grecz & Tang (1970) and Grecz, Tang & Rajan (1972). These workers studied the stability of Ca2+-DPA complexes in relation to pH and temperature.…”

Interaction of dipicolinic acid with water-soluble and immobilized porphyrins

“…Recent threats of contamination in the United States and the continuing danger to military personnel and civilians alike indicate the need for a detector of biological agents that operates in real time and that can function in a variety of environments. Several methods for detection of bacterial spores have been developed including PCR [2,3], immunofiltration assay [4,5], polymorphism analysis [6], direct detection of DNA sequences [7], liquid chromatography [8], FT-IR [9] and those which indicate bacterial spore presence by detection of DPA [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

The release of dipicolinic acid during heating and its relation to the heat destruction of Bacillus stearothermophilus spores

“…The release of Dpa from spores during heat treatment and its relation to heat resistance has been studied in B. megaterium (Rode & Foster 1960) in 8. subtilis and B. megaterium (El-Bisi et urn (Grecz & Tang 1970) and in B. megaterium (Hodges & Brown 1975). The same conclusion was reached in all these studies: that release of Dpa proceeds at a slower rate than loss of viability of spores during heating, suggesting that death precedes the release of Dpa.…”