Role of Germinant Receptors in Caco-2 Cell-Initiated Germination of Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 Endospores

Spores obtained from Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and mutant strains lacking each of seven germinant receptor operons were exposed to differentiated Caco-2 cells and monitored for germination. Spores of the gerI and gerL mutants showed a reduced germination response, pointing to a role for these receptors in Caco-2-induced germination.