Bacterial spores, from ecology to biotechnology

Christophe Paul; Sevasti Filippidou; Isha Jamil; Wafa Kooli; Geoffrey L House; Aislinn Estoppey; Mathilda Hayoz; Thomas Junier; Fabio Palmieri; Tina Wunderlin; Anael Lehmann; Saskia Bindschedler; Torsten Vennemann; Patrick S G Chain; Pilar Junier

doi:10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.10.002

Bacterial spores, from ecology to biotechnology

Adv Appl Microbiol. 2019:106:79-111. doi: 10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.10.002. Epub 2018 Nov 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
² Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States.
³ Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States.
⁴ Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Vital-IT group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁵ Laboratory of stable isotope geochemistry, Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁶ Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Electronic address: pilar.junier@unine.ch.

PMID: 30798805
DOI: 10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.10.002

Abstract

The production of a highly specialized cell structure called a spore is a remarkable example of a survival strategy displayed by bacteria in response to challenging environmental conditions. The detailed analysis and description of the process of sporulation in selected model organisms have generated a solid background to understand the cellular processes leading to the formation of this specialized cell. However, much less is known regarding the ecology of spore-formers. This research gap needs to be filled as the feature of resistance has important implications not only on the survival of spore-formers and their ecology, but also on the use of spores for environmental prospection and biotechnological applications.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Asporogenic; Biomineralization; Cysts; Dormancy; Drug delivery; Paleoecology; Plant-growth promotion; Sporobiota.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Bacteria / genetics
Bacteria / growth & development
Bacteria / metabolism*
Biotechnology
Ecology
Spores, Bacterial / genetics
Spores, Bacterial / growth & development*
Spores, Bacterial / metabolism