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Isolated stage III forespores of Bacillus megaterium ATCC 19213 in aqueous suspensions were nearly as dehydrated as mature spores, as indicated by low dextran-impermeable volumes of ca. 3.0 ml per g (dry weight) of cells compared with values of ca. 2.6 for mature spores and 7.3 for vegetative cells. The forespores lacked dipicolinate, had only minimal levels of calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, and sodium, and were more heat sensitive than vegetative cells. The effective homogeneous conductivities and dielectric constants measured over a frequency range of 1 to 200 MHz indicated that the inherent conductivities of the forespores were unusually low, in keeping with their low mineral contents, but that the forespores could be invaded by environmental ions which could penetrate dielectrically effective membranes. Overall, our findings support the view that the dehydration of a forespore during stage III of sporogenesis may be the result of ion movements out of the forespore into the sporangium.

The ATPases of isolated membranes of lactic acid bacteria were found to be inhibited by fluoride in a complex manner. Among the enzymes tested, that of Streptococcus mutans GS-5 was the most sensitive to fluoride, and the initial rate of hydrolysis of ATP was reduced 50% by approximately 3 mM fluoride. The enzyme of Lactobacillus casei ATCC 4646 was the most resistant, and about 25 mM fluoride was required for 50% inhibition. The response to fluoride appeared to involve reversible, noncompetitive inhibition during short exposure to low levels of fluoride and nonreversible inhibition at higher fluoride levels. In addition, kinetic studies of the effects of fluoride on the enzymes of membranes of S. mutans and L. casei indicated that reversible inhibition was at least partly overcome at high levels of either ATP or Mg. The effects of pH on fluoride inhibition of ATPases were markedly different from the effects of pH on inhibition of acid/base regulation of intact cells by fluoride. It appeared that formation of HF was not required for inhibition of the ATPases. F1 ATPases isolated from the membranes by washing with buffers of low ionic strength proved to be less sensitive to fluoride than the membrane-associated F1F0 holoenzymes, and it was concluded that the F0 or membrane sector of the holoenzyme is involved in fluoride inhibition.

Differences in acid tolerance among representative oral streptococci were found to be related more closely to the dynamic permeabilities of the bacteria to protons than to differences in the sensitivities of cell membranes to gross damage caused by environmental acidification. For Streptococcus mutans GS-5, Streptococcus sanguis NCTC 10904, and Streptococcus salivarius ATCC 13419, gross membrane damage, indicated by the release of magnesium from whole cells, occurred at pH values below about 4 and was rapid and extensive at pH values of about 3 or less. A more aciduric, lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus casei ATCC 4646, was more resistant to environmental acidification, and gross membrane damage was evident only at pH values below 3. Assessments of the movements of protons into S. mutans cells after an acid pulse at various pH values indicated that permeability to protons was minimal at a pH value of about 5, at which the average half time for pH equilibration across the cell membrane was about 12 min. The corresponding values for the less aciduric organism S. sanguis were pH 7 and 8.2 min, and the values for the intermediate organism S. salivarius were pH 6 and 6.6 min. The ATPase inhibitor dicyclohexylcarbodiimide acted to increase markedly the permeability of each organism to protons, and this action indicated that permeability involved not only the passive inflow of protons but also active outflow through the proton-translocating membrane ATPase. Membranes were isolated from each of the bacteria, and pH profiles for ATPase activities indicated pH optima of about 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, and 5.0 for S. sanguis, S. salivarius, S. mutans, and L. casei, respectively. Thus, the pH profiles for the enzymes reflected the acid tolerances of the bacteria and the permeabilities of whole cells to protons.

A general model for use in interpreting dielectric data obtained with bacterial endospores is developed and applied to past results for Bacillus cereus spores and new results for Bacillus megaterium spores. The latter were also subjected to a decoating treatment to yield dormant cells with damaged outer membranes that could be germinated with lysozyme. For both spore types, core ions appeared to be completely immobilized, and decoating of B. megaterium spores did not affect this extreme state of electrostasis in the core. The cortex of B. megaterium appeared to contain a high level of mobile ions, in the cortex of B. cereus. The outer membrane-coat complex of B. megaterium acted dielectrically as an insulating layer around the cortex, so that native dormant spores showed a Maxwell-Wagner dispersion over the frequency range from about 1 to 20 MHz. The decoating treatment resulted in a shift in the dispersion to frequencies below the range of observation. Increases in cell conductivity in response to increases in environmental ionic strength indicated that the coats. of B. megaterium could be penetrated by environmental ions and that they had an inherent fixed charge concentration of about 10 to 20 milliequivalents per liter. In contrast, the dispersion for B. cereus spores was very sensitive to changes in environmental ion concentration, and it appeared that some 40% of the spore volume could be penetrated by environmental ions and that these ions traversed a dielectrically effective layer, either the exosporium or the outer membrane. It appears that dormancy is associated with extreme electrostasis of core ions but not necessarily of ions in enveloping structures and that the coat-outer membrane complex is dielectrically effective but not required for maintenance of extreme electrostasis in the core.