%0 Journal Article %A WARBURG, RICHARD J. %A MOIR, ANNE %A SMITH, DEREK A. %T Influence of Alkali Metal Cations on the Germination of Spores of Wild-type and gerD Mutants of Bacillus subtilis %D 1985 %J Microbiology, %V 131 %N 2 %P 221-230 %@ 1465-2080 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-131-2-221 %I Microbiology Society, %X Spores of gerD mutants of Bacillus subtilis prepared on a rich medium were defective in their germination responses to l-alanine, to a mixture of l-asparagine, d-glucose, d-fructose and KC1 (AGFK), and to Penassay broth. They showed an increased response and sensitivity to lalanine when monovalent cations were also present. When prepared by a resuspension method, the spores had an improved germination response to l-alanine, even in the absence of these cations, but showed no such improvement in response to AGFK. No gross differences were found between wild-type and gerD spores in heat or chemical resistance, dipicolinic acid level or morphology. It is proposed that an alternative pathway of germination involving monovalent cations exists in both wild-type and gerD spores. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-131-2-221