Spores of Bacillus cereus strain KBAB4 produced at 10 °C and 30 °C display variations in their properties Original Research Article

Spores of the psychrotrophic Bacillus cereus KBAB4 strain were produced at 10 °C and 30 °C in fermentors. Spores produced at 30 °C were more resistant to wet heat at 85 °C, 1 % glutaraldehyde, 5 % hydrogen peroxide, 1 M NaOH and pulsed light at fluences between 0.5 and 1.75 J cm−2 and to a lesser extent to monochromatic UV-C at 254 nm. No difference in resistance to 0.25 mM formaldehyde, 1 M nitrous acid and 0.025 g l−1 calcium hypochlorite was observed. Spores produced at 10 °C germinated more efficiently with 10 mM and 100 mM l-alanine than spores produced at 30 °C, while no difference in germination was observed with inosine. Dipicolinic acid (DPA) content in the spore was significantly higher for spores prepared at 30 °C. Composition of certain fatty acids varied significantly between spores produced at 10 °C and 30 °C.