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Abstract
SUMMARY: Whereas γ-radiation alone either did not affect or stimulated spore germination, spores which had been irradiated in the presence of iodoacetamide (IAM) or potassium iodate were inhibited from germinating in germinants like L-alanine, inosine or yeast glucose broth. Activity of a lytic enzyme which may be involved in germination was mostly lost in spores irradiated in IAM, and a phosphomonoesterase was about 60 % inhibited. Spore alanine racemase was partly inactivated by γ-radiation alone but, with spore protease, survived irradiation in IAM without much further loss of activity. Although spores made non-germinable by γ-radiation plus IAM were non-viable as measured by colony counts, viability could be partly restored by chemical treatments known to by-pass the normal germination reactions. It was concluded that spores were inactivated by γ-radiation in the presence of the potentiators through inactivation of enzyme(s) essential in the degradative reactions of germination. The enzyme inactivation was caused by iodine-containing free radicals rather than directly by the γ-radiation.
- Accepted:
- Published Online: