Since Hills ' (1949a, b) discovery that the garminative properties of yeast extract for bacterial spores is due to specific compounds such as L-alanine and adenosine, these compounds, together with inosine and glucose (POWELL, 1957), have figured prominently in expsrimental and theoretical approaches to the nature of germination and to the problem of spore resistance. They have added an important new dimension to our concept of the nature of germination. In the intervening decade there has been little change in our understanding of the germination process as one in which, according to the bacterial species, requirements and functions of a riboside, an amino acid and glucose (physiological germination) are to be reconciled.
However, notions of germination automatically broaden, and the idea of garminant specificity, now often restricted to glucose or riboside-amino acid mixtures, necessarily expands with the recognition of other germinants as they appear. Cases in point : germination elicited by such diverse chemicals as ethylenediamine tetraacetate (BROWN, 1957), calcium dipicolinate (RIEMANN and ORDAL, 1960), hydrogen peroxide (FALCONE, SALVATORE and COVELLI, 1959), and certain long-chain n-alkyl primary amines (chemical germination) (RODE and FOSTER, 1960 d, 1961).
Eventually, our understanding of the germination process w i l l have to accommodate the workings of all known germinants. It follows that new types of germinants may have a decided value in arriving at a proper perspective of the germination process. Expanded knowledge of patterns of germination is a distinct advantage in making the problem experimentally vulnerable from more different angles than is the case if germinative properties are thought to be restricted to ribosides, amino acids and glncose.
Materials and methods
Organisms and culture procedures
Bacillus megaterium (Texas strain) and the methods of producing, washing and storing spore suspensions are the same as those described elsewhere (RODE and FOSTER, 1960b). B. megaterium QM B 1551 was obtained through the courtesy of Dr. H. S. LEVINSON. The recovery medium, for assessment of cell viability, was nutrient agar supplemented with 0.1 per cent soluble starch (OLSEN and SCOTT, 1946; RODE and FOSTER, 1960a, b).