why is it important to kill spores

The bacteria Clostridia form spores. These spores create the bacteria that cause a rare condition called gas gangrene and a type of colitis that is linked to use of antibiotics. Information Chemical disinfectants

can kill bacteria, but they do not destroy their spores. A process called sterilization destroys spores and bacteria.

Full Answer

What is the function of spores in bacteria?

Spores are involved in reproduction. Certain bacteria make spores as a way to defend themselves. Spores have thick walls. They can resist high temperatures, humidity, and other environmental conditions. The bacteria Clostridia form spores. These spores create the bacteria that cause a rare condition called gas gangrene and a type...

Is it possible to kill spores during food processing?

It is not always possible to apply enough heat during food processing to kill spores, thus we have to take advantage of knowledge of the spore-formers to control them.

How do you get rid of spore killing bacteria?

Spores. Chemical disinfectants can kill bacteria, but they do not destroy their spores. A process called sterilization destroys spores and bacteria. It is done at high temperatures and under high pressures. In health care settings, sterilization is usually done using a device called an autoclave.

How do disinfectants kill Clostridia?

The bacteria Clostridia form spores. These spores create the bacteria that cause a rare condition called gas gangrene and a type of colitis that is linked to use of antibiotics. Chemical disinfectants can kill bacteria, but they do not destroy their spores. A process called sterilization destroys spores and bacteria.

Why are spores a problem?

Under electron microscopy, bacterial spores reveal structures that are greatly different from those of the initial vegetative cells. One of the fundamental problems of spore forming bacteria is the high resistance of their spores, which limits the effectiveness of food sterilization methods.

What is the purpose of the spores?

Spores are produced by bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants. Bacterial spores serve largely as a resting, or dormant, stage in the bacterial life cycle, helping to preserve the bacterium through periods of unfavourable conditions.

What is the role of spores in infection?

One of the most common coping mechanisms for bacteria is forming spores to protect themselves against ecological degrading agents. Bacterial spores are the most dormant form of bacteria since they exhibit minimal metabolism and respiration, as well as reduced enzyme production.

What process is required to kill spores?

Many agents are used for spore killing, including moist heat in an autoclave, dry heat at elevated temperatures, UV radiation at 254 and more recently 222 and 400 nm, ionizing radiation of various types, high hydrostatic pressures and a host of chemical decontaminants.

Can spores cause disease?

Diseases associated with inhalation of fungal spores include toxic pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, tremors, chronic fatigue syndrome, kidney failure, and cancer.

What do spores develop into?

Spores are usually haploid and unicellular and are produced by meiosis in the sporophyte. Once conditions are favorable, the spore can develop into a new organism using mitotic division, producing a multicellular gametophyte, which eventually goes on to produce gametes.

Are bacterial spores harmful?

Bacterial spores are much more resistant than their vegetative counterparts. The most dangerous spore-former is Clostridium botulinum which produces a potent neurotoxin that can prove fatal. The most common food poisoning from a spore-former is caused by C. perfringens.

Can bacterial spores cause infection?

As soon as spores get into human or animal organisms, as well as into canned foods, they germinate and become a source of serious infectious diseases. Spores are an infectious form of spore-forming bacteria, among which the most dangerous are B.

Are bacterial spores an infection risk?

Bacterial endospores, such as Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), are an infection control nightmare, one that can run endlessly if not managed carefully by infection control managers. During a prevalence study across 175 hospitals in Queensland, 58.3% of patients presented with onset symptoms of C.

What is importance of sterilization?

Sterilization destroys all microorganisms on the surface of an article or in a fluid to prevent disease transmission associated with the use of that item.

Why do spores increase the risk of food poisoning?

Due to their high resistance properties, their complete inactivation in food is often impossible without changing the product characteristics. Surviving spores can germinate and grow out to vegetative cells, with the consequent great risk of food spoilage and food poisoning after consumption.

How long can spores survive?

Endospores enable bacteria to lie dormant for extended periods, even centuries. There are many reports of spores remaining viable over 10,000 years, and revival of spores millions of years old has been claimed.

What is the function of spores in the life cycle of fungi?

The fungi, which reproduce sexually, have alternating haploid and diploid phases. This is the first stage in the life cycle of a fungus. Here the haploid spores produced from zygote germinate to produce haploid mycelia. Haploid hyphae produce gametes, which fuse by plasmogamy and karyogamy to produce diploid zygote.

Which are the roles of fungal spores?

Fungal spores are microscopic biological particles that allow fungi to be reproduced, serving a similar purpose to that of seeds in the plant world. Fungi decompose organic waste and are essential for recycling of carbon and minerals in our ecosystem.

What are spores made of?

In plants, spores are usually haploid and unicellular and are produced by meiosis in the sporangium of a diploid sporophyte. Under favourable conditions the spore can develop into a new organism using mitotic division, producing a multicellular gametophyte, which eventually goes on to produce gametes.

What is spore formation in biology?

Spore Formation is an Asexual Reproduction technique. Many Spores are housed in sacs known as Sporangia. The plants produce hundreds of spores and the spore sac bursts. These spores are dispersed into the air, where they germinate and create a new plant under favourable conditions.

Why do bacteria have spores?

Spores are a survival mechanism for when bacteria are in trouble. That trouble could be because of environmental conditions: excessive heat, cold or a lack of water , or enduring the vacuum of space. The bacterial cell becomes inactive and develops a multi-layered protective coating. Once the spore forms, a process called sporulation, the bacteria can potentially remain dormant for a very long time — germinating after years to centuries. The possibility of a dormant spore reviving after tens of thousands or millions of years remains speculative. When conditions improve, a viable spore can break open, and the bacteria can thrive and reproduce.

Why is Planetary Protection important?

The role of Planetary Protection is to ensure we limit the contamination risk of microbes and organic molecules, or any remnant of terrestrial life, to other planets from Earth. Equally important is that we don’t bring extraterrestrial microorganisms or products of an extraterrestrial biological process (if they exist) back to Earth. One reason is that we wouldn’t want to discover life on Mars only to realize we’d brought it there ourselves! And of course, we never want to bring anything back to Earth that could be harmful to terrestrial life. Preventing biological contamination is sensible, but NASA also requires it because of the International Space Treaty, which says exploration must be done in a way that avoids cross-contamination of other celestial bodies or adverse changes in Earth’s environment.

What is Bacillus thuringiensis used for?

Bacillus thuringiensis is common in soils. It produces toxins that act as natural insecticide and is used to control insects that damage crops. (Used With Permission: J. Johns)

Can spores survive microbial reduction?

Spores are the most likely candidate to survive microbial reduction treatments (i.e., cleaning and sanitizing).

Can spores form around bacteria?

Remember, spores form around specific bacteria and make that bacteria inactive. When the spore “wakes up,” the bacteria can reproduce itself again. But it can’t become something it isn’t like a zombie impersonating your best friend, or a flesh-eating plant or a dinosaur. But those science fiction movies sure are fun!

Why do bacteria make spores?

Certain bacteria make spores as a way to defend themselves. Spores have thick walls. They can resist high temperatures, humidity, and other environmental conditions. The bacteria Clostridia form spores.

What is the process of sterilization?

Expand Section. Chemical disinfectants can kill bacteria, but they do not destroy their spores. A process called sterilization destroys spores and bacteria. It is done at high temperature and under high pressure. In health care settings, sterilization of instruments is usually done using a device called an autoclave.

What are the problems with Clostridium perfringens?

Spore-forming bacteria are special problems for the food industry. It is not always possible to apply enough heat during food processing to kill spores, thus we have to take advantage of knowledge of the spore-formers to control them. For the meat industry Clostridium perfringens might become a special problem, although this bacterium mainly causes food poisoning through food served in restaurants, hospitals or homes for elderly people (Cliver, 1987; Reynolds, 1987; Gondrosen et al., 1990). The reason for the food poisoning is always the same: meat-containing dishes stored after cooking with insufficient cooling and reheating (Granum, 1990). Even though it should be relatively easy to control this kind of food poisoning, C. perfringens is still one of the most common sources of foodborne diseases. Proper disinfection is necessary to control this type of food poisoning, as it is now clear that only kitchen strains of C. perfringens are able to produce the large amounts of enterotoxin necessary to cause food poisoning (Granum, 1990; Cornillot et al., 1995). Bacillus cereus is more difficult to control, specifically in the dairy industry, where it is now causing the main problems. Insufficient heating of rice-containing dishes has been known to cause B. cereus food poisoning of the emetic kind for a long time (Kramer and Gilbert, 1989), but will not be dealt with in this paper. There are several reasons for the problems in the dairy industry. First of all it seems to be impossible to completely avoid the presence of B. cereus in all milk samples. Secondly the spores are very hydrophobic (Husmark, 1993), and will attach to the surfaces of the pipelines of the dairy industry, where they might multiply and resporulate. A third problem is that pasteurisation heating is insufficient to kill the spores, while competition from other vegetative bacteria is eliminated. It seems that several B. cereus strains have become psychrotrophic over the years, making possible growth at temperatures as low as 4-6 degrees C (Granum et al., 1993a). None of the methods used to control hygiene in the dairy industry so far are able to control B. cereus. This is a continuously increasing problem for the industry but, with emerging knowledge, we should be able to control it. In this paper we will discuss the problems the food industry is facing with C. perfringens and B. cereus, and how these problems might be solved. We will also give our view on how research might ease these problems in the future.

Can heat kill spores?

Spore-forming bacteria are special problems for the food industry. It is not always possible to apply enough heat during food processing to kill spores, thus we have to take advantage of knowledge of the spore-formers to control them.

Is it necessary to disinfect food poisoning?

Proper disinfection is necessary to control this type of food poisoning, as it is now clear that only kitchen strains of C. perfringens are able to produce the large amounts of enterotoxin necessary to cause food poisoning (Granum, 1990; Cornillot et al., 1995).