Research Project
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Bacillus cereus and its close relatives take up soluble silicate from the environment and accumulate it as insoluble silica in and around the spore coat layer. The silica layer serves as a protective coating against acid while showing permeability towards germinant molecules. To elucidate the mechanism underlying these dual functions, we extracted organic molecules from the silica layer. MS analysis revealed the presence of organic polymers containing multiple amino groups. A gene disruptant lacking these polymers formed a silica layer whose nanostructures were slightly different from those of the wild-type one. These results suggest that the polymers embedded in the silica layer might play an important role in the functions of the silica layer.
All 2018 2017 2016
All Presentation (4 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 1 results)
