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[1] [2] The name "endospore" is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form (endo means 'within'), but it is not a true spore (i.e., not an offspring). It is a stripped-down, dormant form to which the bacterium can reduce itself. Endospore formation is usually triggered by a lack of nutrients, and usually occurs in gram-positive bacteria.
The process of endospore formation has profound morphological and physiological consequences: radical post-replicative remodelling of two progeny cells, accompanied eventually by cessation of metabolic activity in one daughter cell (the spore) and death by lysis of the other (the 'mother cell').
Importantly, encystment is a process observed to precede cell division, [8] while the formation of an endospore involves non-reproductive cellular division. The study of the encystment process was mostly confined to the 1970s and '80s, resulting in the lack of understanding of genetic mechanisms and additional defining characteristics, though ...
The endospore is formed at times of nutritional stress and through the use of hydrolysis, allowing the organism to persist in the environment until conditions become favourable. Prior to the process of sporulation the cells might become motile by producing flagella , take up DNA from the environment, or produce antibiotics .
The term sporogenesis can also refer to endospore formation in bacteria, which allows the cells to survive unfavorable conditions. Endospores are not reproductive structures and their formation does not require cell fusion or division. Instead, they form through the production of an encapsulating spore coat within the spore-forming cell.
It has been proposed that endospore formation has allowed for the survival of some bacteria for hundreds of millions of years (e.g. in salt crystals) [14] [15] although these publications have been questioned. [16] [17] Endospore formation is limited to several genera of gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus and Clostridium. It differs from ...
The endospore of one species from Morocco is reported to have survived being heated to 420 °C. [2] Endospore formation is usually triggered by a lack of nutrients: the bacterium divides within its cell wall, and one side then engulfs the other. They are not true spores (i.e., not an offspring). [3]
Endospore staining is a technique used in bacteriology to identify the presence of endospores in a bacterial sample. [1] Within bacteria, endospores are protective structures used to survive extreme conditions, including high temperatures making them highly resistant to chemicals. [ 2 ]