Dynamic staining of Bacillus endospores with Thioflavin T

Rapid detection and identification of endospores presents a range of complex challenges. Dynamic staining approach, developed in our lab, utilizes the time-course fluorescence enhancement of an amyloid-staining dye, Thioflavin T (ThT), after mixing with intact endospores. We examined the kinetics of staining Bacillus atrophaeus and Bacillus thuringiensis endospores, and the rates of staining were different for the two bacilli when intact endospores were treated with ThT. This finding demonstrates an avenue for attaining information about the sporulated bacterial species without lysing, germinating or other pretreatment steps.